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tamar.rogoszinskiThis is a chaper from the book, "Medicine, Rationality, and Experience: an anthropological perspective", which appears to have been referenced by other anthropologists.
This is a chaper from the book, "Medicine, Rationality, and Experience: an anthropological perspective", which appears to have been referenced by other anthropologists.
The author is Byron Good, Ph.D. He is an American anthropologist and teaches medical anthropology at Harvard Medical School. His main focus is mental illness and the cultural meanings of it. He also explores patient narratives and the perspectives of non-Western medical knowledge and compareds different mental health systems. He has done research in Iran, Indonesia, and the US. He has several publications including papers, books, and editted volumes.
Emergency response is not mentioned in this article, but the concepts illustrated here would be vital for first responders as it is critical to understand how the culture where they are responding could shape the way they interact with their patients.
Dr. Good primarily used case studies and interviews to help shape the argument and show how narratives of illness are shaped by many aspects of a person's life, specifically their culture. He also used statistics and other research to analyze these interviews and create a stronger understanding.
This PDF does not include the bibliography, but it is clear that a lot of the work is original due to his traveling and conducting of research. His citatiosn throughout the chapter indicate that he did reference other knowledgable and notable anthropologists and their work helped frame his argument.
The main finding or argument of this article is that a patient's culture will significantly impact a patient's narrative and description of their medical history. Each culture has its own stigmas and norms that can affect the way a patient views their own medical history. This is an important thing that doctors should recognize when analyzing and assessing a patient's situation and history. Also, there is discussion about how an illness can impact an individual physically, mentally, socially, and otherwise. Public perception is an important part of this article.