According to Vaughn, there are quite a few different models for how health is influenced. For example, Hancock and Perkins have developed a model in which four factors are shown to affect an individual’s health (human biology, personal behavior, psychosocial environment, and physical environment) (p. 134). Meanwhile Giger and Davidhizar recognize six factors which influence how people view healthcare. While these different theories may not be 100% in agreement, they both lead me to a similar conclusion: that culture is a huge factor in the health of individuals.
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| My group of summercampers, who--as American citizens-- haven't had to worry about healthcare access. |
I think it’s easy to see how human biology affects everyone; certain diseases are hereditary, and things like diabetes and heart disease run in many families. There is also a correlation between a person’s physical environment and their health. If someone is living in a poor hygienic environment, he or she is more likely to come into contact with germs that will make him or her sick on a regular basis. Psychosocially, a person may suffer from certain diseases based on their mental state or social encounters. As for personal behavior, I think it’s pretty widely publicized that our high-fat, processed American diet leads to heart disease and atherosclerosis. Culture makes us who we are, therefore I think it’s easy to see how it makes sense that it affects our health and well-being.
When I was in the Dominican Republic two short years ago, I witnessed firsthand the health of a few Dominicans. While I was never personally told each person’s individual story regarding their health, I did notice certain things about their culture that undoubtedly had huge impacts on their health. Once such influence was the fact that they ate fresh food.. All The Time. For every meal, they had fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as eggs and fish. I was amazed by their diet, as they didn’t ever have to go to the store! For a sweet snack, they ripped off a few branches of sugar cane and gnawed on it. While I’m sure the sugar cane isn’t all that good for them, they never ate processed foods so their teeth were seemingly flawless despite the sugar. Other than their personal behavior and physical environment (which was extremely poverty-stricken, yet well-maintained), I don’t know much else about factors influencing their health (i.e. human biology, psychosocial behavior).
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| Children in the Dominican Republic getting their faces painted. |
While the Dominican is certainly not the United States, I feel as though many immigrants (such as those from Dominican Republic) coming to the USA encounter many problems when it comes to healthcare. For instance, “the Western biomedical model views disease as originating inside the body due to a specific, identifiable ‘medical’ cause or pathogen (viral, bacterial, etc.)” (Vaughn, p. 141). But just because this is the belief of the United States doesn’t mean that other nations see eye to eye. Someone from a place like Asia or Africa who has immigrated to the US may experience culture shock when it comes to Western healthcare because, as Vaughn writes, “immigrants are familiar with and have faith in the medical beliefs and practices from their culture and…these beliefs are significantly different from those of Western medicine” (141). Whereas the US turns to science for explanations, some other cultures turn to religion and their chosen deity. This isn’t to say that any one belief is right or wrong, they are simply different.
It is really unfortunate to realize the issues that many immigrants face when it comes to accessing healthcare in the US. People who are foreign-born are “twice as likely to lack health insurance” (Vaughn, p. 144). Poverty is also an ongoing issue, as well as language barriers and lack of awareness. It is really important and a step in the right direction to implement things such as the L-E-A-R-N and HEART models into healthcare in order to better assist immigrants.
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