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"Medical Anthropology studies the human experience of disease in cross-cultural, historical, and evolutionary perspective. It provides a point of connection for biological, cultural, and applied research" (Joralemon, ix).
Research in anthropology can help "alleviate human suffering". This research can contribute in the planning, executing, and evaluating health interventions by supplying cultural information on the community involved (Joralemon, ix)
Research in anthropology can help "alleviate human suffering". This research can contribute in the planning, executing, and evaluating health interventions by supplying cultural information on the community involved (Joralemon, ix)
Can we relate Medical Anthropology to Lia Lee's Story?
According to Joralemon, we often called upon medical anthropologist as "presumptive cultural experts" to apply their ethnographic expertise to asses the heath care needs of certain population, to plan and evaluate interventions that are "culturally acceptable" and to shorten the communication gap between workers of the medical field and their patients (Joralemon, 96).
In Lia's story, the Lees struggled with an epileptic daughter, and a healthcare system which did not understand their traditions, beliefs and language in a country where they felt as if they did not belong in.
This cultural miscommunication between the Lees and the western doctors resulted with Lia in a vegetative state for most of her life. The language barrier was -once in a while- alleviated by a translator either from the hospital staff or from the family. However, a "cultural expert" who understood why the Lees were so "noncompliant" was not called.
I ask myself, would Lia's fate have been different if a medical anthropologist would had been involved?
According to Joralemon, we often called upon medical anthropologist as "presumptive cultural experts" to apply their ethnographic expertise to asses the heath care needs of certain population, to plan and evaluate interventions that are "culturally acceptable" and to shorten the communication gap between workers of the medical field and their patients (Joralemon, 96).
In Lia's story, the Lees struggled with an epileptic daughter, and a healthcare system which did not understand their traditions, beliefs and language in a country where they felt as if they did not belong in.
This cultural miscommunication between the Lees and the western doctors resulted with Lia in a vegetative state for most of her life. The language barrier was -once in a while- alleviated by a translator either from the hospital staff or from the family. However, a "cultural expert" who understood why the Lees were so "noncompliant" was not called.
I ask myself, would Lia's fate have been different if a medical anthropologist would had been involved?