The Importance of Biomedical Sciences: Emotional Values and Cultural Beliefs of the Individuals - Essay Example

The concepts of health and illness have changed at an increasing rate from the twentieth century onwards. During this period, biomedicine was introduced in all modern industrialist societies. There was a wide gap between the lay concepts and those put forward by biomedicine. Therefore, it was important to inform people about the importance of concepts of biomedicine over the lay concepts. People believed more on what others explained based on their wisdom, knowledge and experiences rather than the biomedical concepts which were scientifically proven. People had to be persuaded to accept the newer and safer medical concepts and leave the obsolete and dangerous lay concepts (Stacey, M. (1988), p142-143). The lay concepts blamed individuals for inflicting illnesses upon themselves and therefore, were forced to believe in these concepts. Individuals, all over the world, use a number of theories, models and concepts of health and illness. These concepts include lay concepts which are also known as folk concepts and other concepts or models put forward by biomedicine. These concepts are used by individuals explain the importance of maintaining ourselves and to give more information different kinds of illnesses. Lay concepts of health and illness are further explained through a number of theories including Biomedical, Humoral, Ayurvedic etc. Other theories used by individuals are locally developed and although these are not related to the major theories of health and illness, but they do explain the mechanisms of body and other related health issues. These lay concepts explain the immediate causes of an illness but furthermore, it also provides the appropriate treatment methods and procedures and also provides the level of severity and the explanation of the overall illness. These concepts provide ideas about the functioning of the body and the symptoms which are to be given importance. The lay concepts of health focus more on the why and the how of illness because it is believed that the causes of illness should be researched upon and this involves active participation of the patient himself. The lay concepts and theories about health and illness differ widely in various cultures and localities and also vary for different socioeconomic levels. A number of researches have been done to reveal the differences between these lay concepts of illnesses and those provided by biomedicine. A research conducted in the United States showed that individuals belonging to lower socioeconomic classes tend to give importance to these lay concepts only if the person had severe illness which stopped him from carrying out his everyday activities. If the person was able to function properly, then they would not give much importance to the illness nor the cure or the treatment. Furthermore, these lay concepts were different from the actual diagnosis and prescription given by doctors or biomedical professionals. A well known example is the frequent prescription of antibiotics by doctors in North America. The doctors believed that these antibiotics were highly helpful for cold and flu but this belief is highly contradicted by those believing in the lay concepts of illness and health. It is important to understand the factors which affect the lay definitions and concepts of health and illness. These factors include age, social class, gender and most importantly cultural differences (COVINGTON, P. 2008, p212-213). The western and eastern beliefs and concepts are quite different from each other. The western view of illness and health views body as a machine which has to be kept in shape and which is highly affected by an illness as it affects its normal functioning. Even a minor pain in the chest or stomach is given high attention. The eastern view, including the Ayurvedic concept, believes that illness is caused by an imbalance between the social, physical as well as the super-natural environment around an individual. People believing in this concept do pay much attention to minor pains but they also relate it to emotional breakdown. These differences result in a cultural gap as people belonging to different cultures pay different levels of attention to various symptoms. People believing in such lay concepts of illnesses often pay less attention to important and dangerous symptoms which might even result in a delay in the diagnosis of various serious injuries, illnesses and other health issues. There is also a difference between the lay concepts which are believed in the eastern countries and those believed in western nations. In India, for example, the symptom or the origin of illness is often related to an individual`s failure to follow social norms and regulations or to the spiritual world in the sense of a spirit attack etc. on the other hand, lay concepts of the western world relate the symptoms to the behavior of individuals in terms of their everyday diet and their hereditary factors as well. These lay concepts often relate the origins of illnesses to internal as well as external factors including exposure to heat or the exposure to certain negative and ill factors in the environment. The lay concepts of health and illness are often related to folk illnesses which are related to the biomedical medicine. A person suffering from folk illness experiences emotional discomfort and expresses it through physical dimensions. This emotional discomfort or distress can be result of social conflicts or other conflicts related to family or cultural belonging. The symptoms of folk illnesses are often related to beliefs of a particular cultural group and it has certain cultural dimensions. It is also dependant on the beliefs of health and illness that people have. Practitioners from the field of biomedical may view this as a physical illness and might even prescribe unnecessary medications. This over medication might even result in additional problems for the patient and might even make matters worse. Traditional healers believing in lay concepts would understand that this individual suffers an emotional problem rather than a physical one and would treat it with relevant remedies and therapies. Therefore, it is important for biomedical practitioners and doctors to understand these relevant lay concepts to understand the correct symptoms reflecting an emotional or social problem rather than a physical one. Similarly, traditional healers and believers of the lay concepts should understand the importance of giving serious consideration to some dangerous symptoms which will lead to appropriate treatment and therapies. Practitioners need to have some understanding of the significance of certain cultural symbols in order to know the expected behavior of patients and the way they are expected to communicate their discomfort and distress (Lay concepts of health and illness, Web). The biomedical model of health and illness focuses more on the physical manifestation and physical processes which result in diseases (Biomedical model, Web). According to this view, the role of doctors is to diagnose a patient and to treat it with appropriate measures. This treatment is mainly carried out through scientific methods including medicines, drugs, surgeries etc (COVINGTON, P. 2008, P. 214). People believing in traditional lay concepts find it difficult to switch to these modern concepts, beliefs and models of health and illness put forward by the biomedical sciences. Biomedical science, in general, is seen as a proven, applied and therefore, reliable method in all fields including health and illness. These methods are then applied through practices in the medical and are then, therefore, embedded in the workings of the society. In order to remove the lay concepts from the society, these biomedical methods were highly related to societies and the workings of these societies. In order to give more power to biomedical medicine over the lay concepts, more aspects of daily life were linked with bio medical concepts and theories in order to make it more attractive for the former believers on the lay concepts. There has been an increase in the process of integration of traditional and conventional beliefs of health and illness. This is carried out in order to make people with traditional concepts realize the importance of modern scientific inventions which can save people`s lives and which can detect serious illnesses more quickly. It is highly essential that these differences between the lay concepts and the concepts of biomedical sciences be integrated so that more and more lives could be saved. This integration is also highly important to make cultural groups strong by making its people healthier. Traditionalists believing in lay concepts should understand the importance of biomedical sciences through its widening acknowledgement and huge success. Biomedical science has been accepted worldwide and is being used by all the countries and most of the communities having different cultural backgrounds. The biomedical practitioners and doctors also need to understand the importance of emotional values and cultural beliefs of the individuals (Sociological conceptualization of medical knowledge and power, Web). References OGDEN, J. (1997). The Rhetoric and Reality of Psychosocial Theories of Health. Journal of Health Psychology. 2, 21-29. COVINGTON, P. (2008). Success in sociology AS for AQA. Haddenham, Folens. STACEY, M. (1988). The sociology of health and healing: a textbook. London ; Boston, Unwin Hyman “Lay Concepts of Health and Illness Study Guide & Homework Help - eNotes.com." Study Guides, Lesson Plans, Homework Help, Answers & More - eNotes.com. http://www.enotes.com/lay-concepts-health-illness-reference/lay-concepts-health-illness (accessed March 22, 2013). "Section 2: Sociological Conceptualization of Medical Knowledge and Power | Health Knowledge." Welcome to Health Knowledge | Health Knowledge. http://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/public-health-textbook/medical-sociology-policy-economics/4a-concepts-health-illness/section2 (accessed March 22, 2013 "Biomedical Model -- Medical Definition." Medical Dictionary, Medical Abbreviations and Other Search Engines - MediLexicon. http://www.medilexicon.com/medicaldictionary.php?t=55643 (accessed March 22, 2013). Read More