Читать книгу Health Psychology - Michael Murray - Страница 84

‘There is no such thing as human nature independent of culture.’

Clifford Geertz (1973)

Outline

The way people think about health, become ill and react to illness is rooted in broader health belief systems that are immersed in culture. In this chapter, we provide examples of different health belief systems that have existed historically and popular belief systems of today. We consider several indigenous health systems and those of complementary and alternative medicine. Finally, we discuss some issues related to rapid cultural change in contemporary society, including racism and how culturally competent health care systems help to bridge cultural, social and linguistic barriers.