Week 1 Flashcards

(36 cards)

1
Q

What is Medical Anthropology?

A

“Medical Anthropology is about how people in different cultures and social
groups explain the causes of ill health, the types of treatment they believe in,
and to whom they turn if they do get ill. It is also the study of how these
beliefs and practices relate to biological, psychological and social changes
in the human organism, in both health and disease. It is the study of human
suffering, and the steps that suffering.” (Helman,2007:1).
people take to explain and relieve that

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2
Q

Why does this matter

A
  • “Any society’s health care system cannot aspects of that society, especially its organization.” (Helman, 2007:50).
    be studied in isolation from other
    social, religious, political and economic organisation
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3
Q

Medical Anthropology:

A
  • A branch of social anthropology
  • Studies systems of belief and understanding about the body, health, illness, birth, death, suffering
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4
Q
  • Biocultural/biosocial discipline:
A
  • Engages with socio-cultural understandings biomedical approaches to health/illness
    of health/illness and
  • Solves clinical problems by drawing from various perspectives (clinical
    medicine, pathology, genetics, epidemiology, anthropology).
  • The aim is not to debunk science whilst promoting traditional medicine
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5
Q

What do medical anthropologists do?

A
  • Understanding how people make meaning:
    The body, health, illness, biological processes (childbirth, puberty,
    menopause).
  • Understanding how people make meaning of illness, healing and prevention
    Metaphors, societal norms, cultural beliefs.
  • Understand how indigenous/traditional/religious belief systems engage medical issues and how they interact with practices.
    Different health
    biomedical
    sectors - Medical pluralism
    economy,
  • Understanding how politics, economy and culture produce certain health and illness experiences.
    Why are certain people prone to certain diseases? How is health and illness ‘distributed’, Why do others get health and others do not?
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6
Q

Critical Medical Anthropology/ Theoretical Aspects

A

Political economy of illness and disease
Health disparities - Unequal access to health care, nutrition, safety, etc. Intersections between illness and poverty, race, class, gender
Strives to understand medical issues in the socio - political-economic
context
Warns against of a narrow understanding of culture that blames health
outcomes on people’s culture/cultural preference

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7
Q

Reading 1:

A

Critical Medical Anthropology – A Voice for Just and Equitable Healthcare” by Anna Witeska-
Młynarczyk

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8
Q

Reading 1: What is CMA

A

Critical Medical Anthropology (CMA) is a powerful approach within medical
anthropology that looks beyond individual illnesses to examine the broader
social, political, and economic structures that shape health outcomes. It’s not
just about what makes people sick—but why certain groups are more likely to
suffer and how systems of power (like capitalism, inequality, racism, etc.)
influence health.

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9
Q

Reading1: Origins & Theoretical Foundations

A

CMA emerged in movement.
the 1970s alongside the political economy of health
It was influenced by Marxist theory (like Engels’ work on class and disease)
and later by thinkers like Michel Foucault (who introduced ideas like biopower
—how governments manage people through health systems).
Immanuel Wallerstein’s World Systems Theory also contributed: CMA argues
that global capitalism has created “core” (wealthy) and “periphery” (exploited)
regions, and this directly impacts access to healthcare.

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10
Q

R1:Key Concepts in CMA (based on Merrill Singer’s framework)

A

Health: Not just the a satisfying life.
absence of disease but access to resources that support
Disease: A biological and social phenomenon—illness can reflect inequality.
Syndemics: The idea that multiple diseases (e.g., HIV and TB) often interact
and are worsened by social conditions like poverty.
Sufferer Experience: People’s lived experiences of illness are culture, politics, and economy.
shaped by
Medicalization: The expansion sadness as depression).
Medical Hegemony: How biomedicine (Western scientific medicine)
becomes dominant due to capitalism, not just because it “works better.”
Medical Pluralism: The coexistence of multiple healing biomedicine, traditional healing). Often, one dominates the politics and power.

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11
Q

R1:Real-World Applications

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Case studies show how CMA sheds light global capitalism on health:
In Chile, neoliberal reforms affected mental health on the effects of poverty, policy, and
in poor communities.
Paul Farmer’s work shows how AIDS is tied to poverty in places like Haiti and
the US.
In Africa, CMA helped show that fighting HIV/AIDS also requires addressing tuberculosis—one disease can’t be tackled alone.

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12
Q

R1:Pharmaceuticals & Power

A

The article criticizes pharmaceutical companies for operating like consumer
goods corporations—targeting poor populations for drug trials, even when
those drugs are unaffordable.
The “pharmaceutical self” describes how modern shaped by medication (e.g., antidepressants used identities are increasingly to
“optimize” personality).

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13
Q

R1:Patients, Power & Global Mental Health

A

CMA critiques global mental health programs (like those led by the WHO) for
pushing Western diagnoses and treatments without adapting to local cultures.
It notes how biomedicine is sometimes seen as a form of colonialism, but also
how it can be welcomed depending on local contexts.

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14
Q

R1: Doctors and Institutions

A

Even doctors are affected- many lose autonomy in increasingly bureaucratic profit-driven health systems
The doctor-patient relationship often reinforces inequalities (the doctor expert, the patient is subordinate)

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15
Q

R1:CMA’s Mission: Health as Social Justice:

A

CMA wants to uncover inequalities, amplify marginalized voices, and
guide policies that promote health equity.
It calls for governments to prioritize human wellbeing over corporate profits.
As Nancy Scheper-Hughes puts it, CMA is a “militant anthropology”—it seeks to take action, not just kind
study.

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16
Q

R1:Why care as an anthropology student

A

CMA gives you tools to understand how health is never just biological - it’s deeply political, economic, and cultural.
It helps anthropologists work toward real-world change, especially for those margins. It offers a critical lens to challenge dominant narratives in medicine and public health

17
Q

Reading 2:

A

Introduction: The Scope of Medical Anthropology” It is from the book - Cecil G. Helman

18
Q

R2:What is Medical Anthropology?

A

Medical anthropology is a branch of anthropology that studies how different cultures understand health, illness, and healing. It looks at how social, cultural, biological, and environmental factors influence health behavior and healthcare systems

19
Q

R2:The Roots of Medical Anthropology

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It stems from social and cultural anthropology, but also incorporates biology, medicine and public health.
Anthropology is a holistic discipline—it studies humans in all their complexity, across cultures, time periods, and biological dimensions. Medical anth specifically focuses on suffering, treatment beliefs and healing practices, placing them within a cultural conetxt.

20
Q

R2: Key concepts

A
  1. Culture: defined as the system of shared beliefs, values, norms that guide human behaviour.
    Edward T. Hall describes culture as having three levels:
    Tertiary: Surface-level practices (e.g., food, rituals)
    Secondary: Rules known within the group but not always shared
    Primary: Deep, unconscious norms and values
    Culture acts as a lens shaping how people perceive health and illness.
  2. Society vs culture
    Society: A group of people living together with shared social systems
    Culture: The symbolic, ideational side (beliefs, values, practices)
    Anth studies both together- how people organise themselves abd how they make sense of the world
21
Q

R2: Medical Subcultures & diversity

A

Professions like medicine, nursing, and law have their own subcultures
In complex societies, multiple subcultures coexist: ethnic, religious, generational, class based
Even within one society, people experinece and interpret health differently depending on their background and social position

22
Q

R2: Misuses of culture

A

Be careful not to stereotype! Cultures are not homogenous.
Always consider the context—economic hardship, discrimination, or lack of access might shape behavior more than culture.
Overusing “culture” to explain illness can lead to cultural camouflage, where real
medical or mental issues are misunderstood.

23
Q

R2:Social inequality and health

A

Social and economic inequality is a major determinant of health.
Factors like income, education, race, gender, and job status strongly health outcomes (e.g., Whitehall Study in the UK).
Poorer or minority populations often face worse health, not just due to culture, but
due to systemic issues like racism, poverty, and access to care.

24
Q

R2:The ‘Biocultural’ Approach

A

Medical anthropology is biocultural: it examines how biology and culture interact.
Example: a genetic disorder might be common in a group due to marriage
customs, not just genes.

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R2: The Life Cycle Perspective
Looks at culturally defined age grades (e.g., child, elder). Childhood and old age are socially constructed and vary across cultures. E.g., in some societies, children are expected to work early; in across cultures. others, they are protected and "in school" for years. Old age may be revered (e.g., wisdom-holders) or marginalized (e.g., viewed as a burden)
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R2: Clinically Applied Medical Anthropology
Anthropologists work in real-world healthcare settings to improe cultural sensitivity and patient care. Cultural competence means understanding how patients’ cultural backgrounds affect: Communication Beliefs about treatment Access to care Consent and autonomy
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R2: Research methods
Uses ethnography (participant observation) to get the insider’s perspective. Also uses comparative methods, surveys, interviews and more modern techniques (like rapid assessmnets) Can be applied in hospitals, remote villages, urban slams or refugee camps)
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Reading 3:
Structural Violence and Clinical Medicine” by Paul Farmer
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R3: What Is Structural Violence?
Structural violence refers to social structures—like poverty, racism, gender and inequality, and political oppression—that systematically harm people by limiting their ability to meet basic needs. It’s called “structural” because it's built into the fabric of society, and “violent” because it causes real suffering premature death—even if it’s indirect or invisible.
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R3: Why Should Clinicians Care?
Physicians often see how inequality affects their patients, but medical modern medicine often training focuses mainly on biology. As a result, overlooks the social causes of disease. Medical anthropologists urge a shift toward biosocial understandings of illness—recognizing that diseases are shaped by both biology and social conditions.
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R3: Real word examples
HIV/AIDS in the U.S. Poor and marginalized groups (especially Black Americans) experience higher rates of HIV and worse outcomes. It’s not just due to “risky behavior,” but also racism, poverty, and lack of access to care Case Study: Baltimore When clinics addressed barriers like transportation, stigma, and cost, disparities in HIV treatment outcomes disappeared—proving that structural intervention work.
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R3:Rwanda and Haiti
The NGO Free medical Partners In Health used treatment a model involving: Community health workers (accompagnateurs) Clean water projects Nutrition and housing support This model dramatically reduced mother-to-child transmission of improved health outcomes even in the poorest rural areas.
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R3: What Are Structural Interventions?
These are solutions that address the root social causes of disease: Free healthcare and medications Job creation and education Access to clean water and food Gender equality and land rights They go beyond the clinic to improve the conditions that make people sick in the first place.
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R3: Proximal vs distal interventions
Distal interventions = conventional medical care (eg drugs, surgeries) Proximal interventions = upstream changes to prevent disease (eg safe housing, nutrition) We need both. They are complemnetary, not competing
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Final Takeaway:
This article emphasises that health is not just a medical issue- its a matter of social justice Structural violence is the leading cause of illness abd early deatg. Medical Anthropology can help resocioloise medicine by highlighting the impact of inequality on health Solutions require collabaration on between health workers, anthropologists, policy-making, and communities Equity in healthcare isnt optional- its our responsibility
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