The Indian Practitioner

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Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Public Health


Affiliations
1 Assistant Professor, School of Health Systems Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India
2 PGDWASH student, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Tuljapur, India
     

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Traditional beliefs and practices related to health are prevalent in every society. Medical and clinical research are significant for understanding health and illness of a person. But at the same time, the socio-cultural factors which are shaped by the culture in which one lives play a crucial role in understanding health in a holistic manner. The risk of illness is increased by many social and cultural factors and it directly or indirectly influences the way a person defines and treats illness. Hence, individual behaviour related to health is determined more or less by social and cultural differences among the individuals. The objective of this article is to understand the socio-cultural aspects influencing health. It concludes how socio-cultural factors influencing the health seeking behaviour of the population play a vital role in public health.

Keywords

Coping Skills, Culture, Health Approaches, Health Equity, Health Seeking Behaviour, Medical Anthropology, Patient Focused Communication, Psychosocial Factors.
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  • Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Public Health

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Authors

Dhananjay Mankar
Assistant Professor, School of Health Systems Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India
Danish Altaf Shaikh
PGDWASH student, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Tuljapur, India

Abstract


Traditional beliefs and practices related to health are prevalent in every society. Medical and clinical research are significant for understanding health and illness of a person. But at the same time, the socio-cultural factors which are shaped by the culture in which one lives play a crucial role in understanding health in a holistic manner. The risk of illness is increased by many social and cultural factors and it directly or indirectly influences the way a person defines and treats illness. Hence, individual behaviour related to health is determined more or less by social and cultural differences among the individuals. The objective of this article is to understand the socio-cultural aspects influencing health. It concludes how socio-cultural factors influencing the health seeking behaviour of the population play a vital role in public health.

Keywords


Coping Skills, Culture, Health Approaches, Health Equity, Health Seeking Behaviour, Medical Anthropology, Patient Focused Communication, Psychosocial Factors.

References