Group differences in the structure of illness

The paper reports an attempt to study in a naturalistic and quantitative fashion the features of illness episodes. Such episodes, as perceived and reported by lay persons, constitute a basic datum in ethnomedicine. Yet, they have rarely been the object of systematic research for theoretical and methodological reasons. The paper discusses ways in which illness episodes have significance in ethnomedicine and in health services research generally, and describes a method which can be used in field situations to study them. The content, internal structure and organization which illness episodes have are given attention by analysing and measuring the components of illness in a panel of adult females who reside in the highland state of Chiapas in Southeastern Mexico. Comparisons are undertaken in the two most dissimilar subgroupings of the region. Some commonalities and group differences in the duration of symptoms and in the way symptoms interrelate are described. An interpretation of these differences is offered, with principal emphasis given to the social circumstances and to the (cultural) meanings of illness in the two groups. The procedure employed, which is consistent with the way in which vital signs are recorded in the hospital, lends itself to field studies of the way symptoms and signs of disease unfold in the individual across time. The idea of a language of illness, which is introduced and developed in the paper, is used to draw emphasis to the communicative and symbolic features of illness.     

The interface between medical anthropology and medical ethnobiology

Medical anthropology is concerned with both the causes and consequences of human sickness, and its various theoretical orientations can be grouped into four major approaches: medical ecology, critical medical anthropology, interpretative medical anthropology, and ethnomedicine. While medical anthropologists of all theoretical persuasions have examined why people get sick, the analysis and understanding of patterns of treatment has been largely confined to ethnomedicine. Historically, more emphasis has been placed on the personalistic or supernatural aspects of ethnomedical systems than on naturalistic or empirical components. While this focus has produced valuable insights into the role of ritual and belief in healing, it has led to the impression that traditional medicine is primarily symbolic. Moreover, it ignores the theoretical bases of traditional healing strategies and the practical means by which most of the world heals itself, namely plants. Recently there has been more interest in the empirical character of ethnomedical systems, and in this paper we consider the role that medical ethnobiology has played in this shift of focus. We begin with a brief history of medical anthropology to illuminate why naturalistic medicine was neglected for so long. We then review exemplary research in two areas of medical ethnobiology – ethnophysiology and medical ethnobotany – that address the study of naturalistic aspects of medical systems. We conclude with suggestions for future research at the interface between medical ethnobiology and medical anthropology that will contribute to both fields.     

Elementary systems of medicine

The beliefs about causes of disease, orientations to medical problems, and the treatment practices of relatively small and elementary societies are reviewed and analyzed. Selected published reports of this problem area of ethnomedicine serve as source material. An attempt is made to induce generalizations which will serve as a possible baseline for studies dealing with related material pertaining to more advanced societies.The author would like to express his appreciation of the assistance given him by Mrs Victoria Manning.     

Disease Etiologies in Non-Western Medical Systems

This paper argues that disease etiology is the key to cross-cultural comparison of non-Western medical systems. Two principal etiologies are identified: personalistic and naturalistic. Correlated with personalistic etiologies are the belief that all misfortune, disease included, is explained in the same way; illness, religion, and magic are inseparable; the most powerful curers have supernatural and magical powers, and their primary role is diagnostic. Correlated with naturalistic etiologies are the belief that disease causality has nothing to do with other misfortunes; religion and magic are largely unrelated to illness; the principal curers lack supernatural or magical powers, and their primary role is therapeutic . [disease, religion, and magic; ethnomedicine, medical anthropology, non-Western medical systems, shamans]     

An ethnomedicine study among women in Uremia (North-West Iran)

During the recent years, ethomedicine has attracted a great deal of attention among the investigators throughout the world. Although ethnomedicine seeks, in the first place, to compensate for a biological need through providing cures for disorders, it, however, is of a cultural nature, too, in that it investigates people's behaviors and reactions toward health and the issues related to it. Consequently, traditional health must be counted as a component of a society's culture. Investigations of people's views toward traditional medicine are capable of throwing light on acquaintance with their conducts, customs, traditions and behaviors, as well as the social-economic conditions prevailing in their environment. In addition, such investigations of public medicine bring about familiarities with gradual developments in traditional medical methodologies as introduced by culture, economic, or social factors, first into the society, then medicine. Familiarizations with cultural diversities in relation to medicine are the end results. The present paper comprise an anthropological approach toward investigation of ethnomedical practiced by women of Uremia (North-West, Iran).     

The use of zootherapeutics in folk veterinary medicine in the district of Cubati, Paraíba State, Brazil

Background

Viewed through the micro focus of an interpretive lens, medical anthropology remains mystified because interpretivist explanations seriously downplay the given context in which individual health seeking-behaviours occur. This paper draws upon both the interpretivist and political economy perspectives to reflect on the ethno medical practices within the Korean-Australian community in Sydney.

Methods

We draw on research data collected between 1995 and 1997 for an earlier study of the use of biomedical and traditional medicine by Korean-Australians in Sydney. A total of 120 interviews were conducted with a range of participants, including biomedical doctors, traditional health professionals, Korean community leaders and Korean migrants representing a range of socio-economic backgrounds and migration patterns.

Results and Discussion

First, the paper highlights the extent to which the social location of migrants in a host society alters or restructures their initial cultural practices they bring with them. Second, taking hanbang medicine in the Korean-Australian community as an illustrative case, the paper explores the transformation of the dominant biomedicine in Australia as a result of the influx of ethnomedicine in the era of global capitalism and global movement.

Conclusion

In seeking to explain the popularity and supply of alternative health care, it is important to go beyond the culture of each kind of health care itself and to take into consideration the changes occurring at societal, national and global levels as well as consequential individual response to the changes. New social conditions influence the choice of health care methods, including herbal/alternative medicine, health foods and what are often called New Age therapies.     

Studying Knowledge, Culture, and Behavior in Applied Medical Anthropology

In this article we argue that the concept of knowledge, as utilized by public health professionals, is best regarded as cultural belief as defined in anthropology. The implications of this position are explored, particularly as it relates to the development of a decision-making approach to the understanding and analysis of health care behavior. The methodological challenges posed by the new theoretical perspective that has emerged from the emphasis on decision making is discussed from the perspective of applied research. The role of focused ethnographic studies is examined and contrasted with ethnomedicine and survey approaches. Some main features of focused ethnographic methods are described and illustrated with a case example of acute respiratory infection (ARI) in Gambia. [knowledge and cultural beliefs, decision-making approaches, health behavior, focused ethnographic studies]     

Swimming from island to island: healing practice in Tonga

The health care system of the Pacific island nation of Tonga serves as an example of enduring medical pluralism which incorporates traditional and Western medical practice and accommodates contemporary political and social change. Biomedicine is represented by the hospital and the community health centers; traditional medicine is practiced in homes by healers. Both types of therapies are popularly utilized for different ailments or for the same problem at different points in the illness. Contemporary healing is described and is also analyzed as an expression of social change occurring in Tonga as a result of a political movement toward democracy.     

Urban Philippine healers and their contrasting clienteles

This paper is concerned with medical pluralism in a Philippine setting. It reports on results of a study of four indigenous healers and their patients in Cebu City. The city is a modern medical center in the Philippines, with more than 500 practicing physicians. But its indigenous healers also treat numerous patients, and many patients utilize both physicians and healers during the course of an illness. Of the four healers discussed in this paper, two had the largest followings of any healers in the city at the time of the study, the other two had very modest practices. Significant social and medical contrasts between the clienteles of these healers are described in the paper, and the implications of these differences are discussed with respect to decisions people make about their health care in an area with diverse medical resourses.     

An updated and comprehensive review on the ethnomedicinal uses,phytochemistry, pharmacological activity and toxicological profile of Tinospora crispa (L.) Hook. f. & Thomson

Phytochemistry Reviews - Tinospora crispa (L.) Hook. f. & Thomson (Menispermaceae) is a plant indigenous to Africa and South-East Asia. It is widely used in ethnomedicine to alleviate...     

Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine – achievements and perspectives

Last summer we officially launched the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, published by BioMedCentral, with the aim of establishing a serious, peer-reviewed, open-access online journal that focuses on the multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary fields of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, drawing on approaches and methods from both the social and biological sciences. The strong start vindicates the widely held belief that the journal responds to a real need within the research community. The success of the journal has been most gratifying. The steady influx of submissions of high scientific standards illustrates the strong demand for a dynamic, proactive, and open-minded scientific journal in these research areas. Our aim has been to dedicate JEE to the "scientific communities" worldwide, particularly those in the developing countries.     

Ecole d'été de l'A.C.E.M.I.—Ha?ti

Six Canadian medical students record their experience at a summer school of tropical medicine in Haiti, sponsored by the Canadian Association of Medical Students and Internes. The social, economic and medical background is described, including “Voodoo” practices, language and Haitian art. Attention is directed to the occurrence of umbilical tetanus, diarrhea and malnutrition. From even a brief stay in a country such as Haiti one comes to appreciate that a public health program in an underdeveloped nation is not strictly a medical undertaking but must be seen in its social and economic contexts.     

Cytogenotoxicity of the aqueous extract of Parquetina nigrescens leaf using Allium cepa assay

Protoplasma - Parquetina nigrescens has been used for decades in ethnomedicine for its antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and aphrodisiac properties. In this study, the...     

Home Care and Prevention

This article focuses on the practices and conceptions of prevention in home care that were prevalent among Quebec families during the first half of the 20th century. The analysis is based on an examination of 585 recipes in which prevention was an objective. The analysis finds that there are three prevention purposes in home care: strengthening, which includes caregiving acts that maintain good health and fortify the whole or particular parts of the body; cleansing and purifying, which include any care aimed at eliminating accumulated substances from the body; and finally, warding off illness. The discussion insists on the holistic nature of these practices and on their relationship to women's work. [prevention, home care, ethnomedicine, self-care, women]     

中国临终关怀服务现状与伦理探讨

随着社会经济的发展、人口老龄化和疾病谱的改变,临终关怀已成为我国社会所关注的重要民生问题,也成为医学伦理的热点。该文结合中国生命关怀协会对我国城市临终关怀服务利用与需要状况的调研,反映当前我国城市临终关怀服务的基本特征,对临终关怀中涉及医学伦理的部分概念,以及临终关怀服务中的相关权益进行阐述,并建议应当在逐步完善全民医疗保健制度的基础上,健全服务体系,包括临终关怀伦理道德法规体系,才能更好地为临终患者服务,提高患者的生命质量。     

Epidemiological studies based on medical and administrative databases : a potential strength in France

Population-based epidemiological cohorts may include nowadays hundreds of thousands of subjects, followed-up during decades. France has a major potential strength: nationwide medical and social databases set up for administrative purposes. The main databases useful for epidemiology are the social security database which contains individual medical data from different sources, and the retirement fund database on employment and social benefits. These databases have several advantages: they cover the whole French population, with no lost to follow-up, data are often of good quality and it is possible to link them with individual surveys. However medical data are not always ascertained and an important methodological and practical work has to be done, and some legal and practical problems have to be solved for an optimal use.     

重塑组织边界：深圳医务社会工作的经验与反思

医务社会工作是医院与社会工作机构跨越组织边界的合作。通过对深圳医务社会工作的个案分析,揭示了医院与社会工作机构之间存在制度边界、物理边界、认同边界,具体表现为业务流程与管理规范的隔离、服务空间与信息流通的壁垒、主体间的认同困境,阻碍了医务社会工作的开展。医院主动开放边界的举措与社会工作机构主动渗透的策略促进了组织合作,重塑了组织边界,但也存在一定的不足。     

Medicine Among New Immigrants and Arab Minorities in Israel

The reaction to modern medicine and the general health of the new immigrants and Arab populations of Israel are described. The material was gathered during a threemonth visit to Israel where the author participated in the medical care of these persons. While these peoples still share many of the traditional medical superstitions and practices, the new immigrants have progressed much more during the 16 years of Israel''s existence. At present over 99% of Jewish women give birth in hospital, whereas only 65% of Israeli Arabs do. The infant mortality rate among the Jews in 1963 was about 21 deaths per 1000 live births, about one-half the rate for Arabs. The importance of understanding the cultural background and social conflicts of these people as a preliminary to the provision of proper medical care is stressed.