The Meaning of Health and Illness in the Mexican Culture - Essay Example

Running Head: The Meaning of Health and Illness in the Mexican Culture The Meaning of Health and Illness in the Mexican Culture Inserts His/Her Name Customer Inserts Grade Course Customer Inserts Tutor's Name 02 October 2009 Mexican culture and traditions have a great impact on attitudes towards health and illness among native population. Cultural values create a certain framework or approach that posits biological and psychological values which entail thoughts, emotions, manners, and social factors. Without a doubt, health can be deeply understood in terms of a combination of biological, cultural and social factors slightly than with the sole purpose in biological terms. As it was stated above that the complete health image can be understood more deep by diverse of factors. No one can deny that the social influence on health is significant, where the better health and higher quality of life of community members depend on the level of their participation in the social networks, assistance to each other and overall change of the society to become more healthy and prosperous. Such social networks usually include the family, friends, neighbors, church, work, sport clubs and other social groups where people can exchange information, experience and advices. For Mexican people, health is seen as holistic issue or a unity between mind, spirit and body. In the West, the doctor hopes to "cure" a problem after people are unbearably sick, when they are in pain or feel physically disruptive symptoms. A traditional Mexican practitioner, by contrast, seeks to prevent disease by keeping all systems balanced and finely tuned throughout the patient's life span. Consultation with the practitioner of acupuncture is ideally an ongoing part of every patient's life. Although the idea of preventive medicine (for instance, prenatal care) is prominent in current discussions about revamping our medical care system, there is really no comparison to the prevention that is accomplished through acupuncture and herbs. illness also comes from a gradual blocking and deficiency of body energy. Mexican people see the body threatened by lifestyle factors such as overeating or overworking. We also look for disharmonies of the internal nature in intensely prolonged emotional states such as grief or depression (LaVeist, 2005). Mexican culture and gender have their own influences on health care since the person's socioeconomic status, ethnicity, gender and other factors directly affect his/her perception of the disease, necessity or financial ability to seek appropriate treatment. It is obvious that those people who live in poverty or from low socioeconomic status receive less medical help than those with stable income and medical coverage. In multi-ethnical communities the doctors can influence the patients by learning and understanding the beliefs, attitudes and experiences of patients from different ethnical groups and nationalities. The influence of gender on health care can be observed while analyzing the female and male patients, their attitudes and behaviors, where men are usually direct and logical decision makers and women are less independent and more influenced by others (Chabram-Derners, Torre 2008). While some symptoms are obvious both for the person him/herself and others around (nervousness, physical dependence on alcohol or drugs, etc), other symptoms are rather difficult to recognize. Usually, people use schemas as the organized ways to look at things and people that influence person's expectations, behavior, etc. Certainly, to seek medical treatment is the responsibility of each drug-dependent person or those who surround him based on the perception of the severity of the addiction symptoms. Though, there are some factors that might positively influence treatment seeking, including belief systems, certain life activities, gender, SES and ethnicity. While the good patient role presumes that the person behaves well and properly by following the prescribed treatment and medical services, the role of bad patient presumes that the person always complain about everything done to him/her, misbehaves, refuses to take medication, etc. In this case, it is the responsibility of the nurse, treating doctor or relatives to influence the patient and convince that medical treatment will be only for good and will help him/her to recover from the drug addiction or health-related consequences (Estrada, 2001). In spite of great contribution made by Mexican practitioners, they mislead people and do not promote healthy behavior patterns and life style. For this reason, obesity and lack of physical activity are the main problems among Mexican population. The obesity might easily be transformed through the life span into even greater health-related risks, namely, high blood pressure, a great likelihood of heart disease, asthma and even Type II diabetes that was previously known as particularly adult disease (LaVeist, 2005). Moreover, aside from serious consequences considering health condition, there might appear a risk of total social isolation due to social discrimination, depression and low self esteem. Consequently it should be mentioned that not a single cause, but a set of interrelated factors, specifically environmental, genetic, socioeconomic, psychological and behavioral all contribute to further excessive accumulation of fat in the body, known as obesity or overweight. In alternative medicine, when symptoms show signs of disappearance, the patient should realize that a program of maintenance must be continued. Acupuncture will mobilize the body's curative capacity during and for a long time after illness (Estrada, 2001). When patients first experience release from depression, pain, and stress, they also start to realize that further relief is possible. It is the beginning of hope. As their health gradually improves, they realize that they don't have to accept the accustomed misery of life. It is inspiring and enlightening to listen to patients talk about these changes; they speak of awareness, balance, a feeling of self-worth. Their newfound energy has given them strength and unsuspected resources to cope (Aguirre-Molina et al. 2001). The main weakness of alternative medicine is that it promotes psychological health but limits physical activity among children. The physical activity among children and adolescents is not a must for a young growing organism and losing weight. Moreover, due to technological development that has greatly contributed to the decrease in physical activity, children became passive and unmotivated. That is why it is extremely important for a child to become physically active, providing positive effects not only on the body weight, but also on the bone strength and especially blood pressure (LaVeist, 2005). Patients recovering from depression describe a rejuvenated capacity to communicate and relate to others, heightened satisfaction with life, and a growing spirituality. Medicine utilizes a highly developed body of knowledge about medicinal herbs. These herbs may be applied externally in the form of salves, or as drops and powders to be dissolved in liquids and drunk. Herbs can be cooked into a medicinal soup or dried, ground, and put into a gelatin capsule. These herbal medicines should only be prescribed by a practitioner who has been schooled in their use. They are true medicines and have a pharmacology all their own. Each herb has unique properties, side effects, and correct therapeutic values. One special herb is burned directly or indirectly on the acupuncture points (Chabram-Derners and Torre, 2008. In sum, Mexican cultural values diminish the role of healthy diet and physical activity in life of ordinary people. They pay much attention to mind and body relations but neglect problems of poor eating and depression. Mexican practitioners believe that the divine factors that can cause a regulation in the body weight and appetite can vary from person to another, where it is based on some factors such as the age, gender, the genes, the family root and whether some of the parents have the ability to get weight or not. On the other side, there are some other factors such as anger, sadness, boredom, and anxiety can trigger binge eating and has direct impact on the eating disorder manner. Impulsive manners and certain other emotional problems can be more frequent in people with binge eating disorder. Nevertheless, many people also claim that binging takes place regardless of their mood. Those social networks are also considered as reference groups whom a person can consult on any decision and by whom such person can be influenced either in the positive or negative way. References Aguirre-Molina, M. et al. (2001). Health Issues in the Latino Community (Public Health/Vulnerable Populations. Jossey-Bass; 1 edition. Chabram-Derners, A. Torre, Adela de la, (2008). Speaking from the Body: Latinas on Health and Culture. University of Arizona Press. Estrada, A. (2001). Mexican Americans and Health: Sana! Sana! (Mexican American Studies Series). University of Arizona Press; 1 edition. LaVeist, Rh. (2005). Minority Populations and Health: An Introduction to Health Disparities in the U.S.. Jossey-Bass; 1 edition. Read More