Medical Anthropology

Medical anthropology is the study of health and wellness in relation to human history, culture, and politics. An interdisciplinary field, medical anthropology involves contributions from history, economics, sociology, and physical anthropology. Research in the field is also grouped under the terms "anthropology of health," especially in Europe, and "ethnomedicine," which is also a subfield of medical anthropology. Medical anthropology began to emerge as a distinct field of study in the 1950s and 60s, though the underlying research can be traced back to ethnological studies beginning in the early 1900s.

Medical anthropologists study the way that human cultures develop ideas, technology, and techniques about health and medicine. Research in the field has been used to facilitate the introduction of modern medicine to indigenous and traditional cultures around the world and has also resulted in the globalization of pharmacological substances and medical techniques developed in indigenous societies.

History of Medical Anthropology

Ethnology is the study of the unique and defining characteristics of groups, including racial, nationalistic, and ecological groups. British physician William H. R. Rivers was one of the first ethnologists to study health in indigenous populations. In 1915 and 1916, he delivered a seminal series of lectures on the subject under the title "Medicine, Magic, and Religion," later published as a book. Rivers’s studies are now seen as one of the earliest examples of medical anthropology. In the mid-twentieth century, Erwin Ackerknecht, another pioneer in the field, contributed groundbreaking studies on nineteenth-century malaria a cultural approach now seen as characteristic of the field.

In his 1952 editorial "Anthropology in Medicine" in the journal Science, anthropologist William Caudill was the first to identify medical anthropology as a unique, interdisciplinary field. Caudill’s work included a seminal study of the Yale Psychiatric Institute, during which Caudill spent two months living as a patient in the psychiatric ward, with his identity unknown to the patients, to study social interaction inside the hospital.

The book Health, Culture, and Community: Case Studies of Public Reactions to Health Programs, published in 1955 and edited by Benjamin D. Paul, has been cited as one of the earliest medical anthropology textbooks. Public health specialist Steven Polgar, who conducted studies of communities in Ghana and among Native American populations, played a major role in promoting the field through the American Anthropological Association (AAA). The Organization of Medical Anthropology (OMA) was established in 1967, and began publishing the Medical Anthropology Newsletter in 1968. Later known as the Group for Medical Anthropology (GMA), the organization’s first chairperson was Hazel Weidman.

In 1970, the GMA changed its name to the Society for Medical Anthropology (SMA) and in 1971 the SMA became a chapter of the American Anthropological Association. Two unique journals covering the field, Medical Anthropology and the journal Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry, began publication in 1976 and remain among the most prestigious publishing outlets for medical anthropology research.

Ethnomedicine and Cultural Health

Ethnomedicine is a subfield within medical anthropology concerned with health practices, values, and social dynamics within specific ethnic groups. An ethnic group can be defined as a group of people who share certain geographic, cultural, racial, genetic, or ancestral characteristics. Ethnomedicine therefore overlaps with the study of health and wellness among indigenous populations. The related field of ethnopharmacology studies how ethnic groups utilize specific substances found in their environment as medical aides.

Ethnomedicine can encompass a wide variety of research interests. One common area is the study of traditional medicine, which can include both pharmacology and alternative healing. Ethnomedicine research is especially interested in unusual or unique medical practices within traditional cultures. For instance, ethnomedicine research has examined the role of shamanism and witchcraft in the traditional medical systems of sub-Saharan Africa. Studies in China have also looked at the technology, techniques, and public attitudes surrounding unique medical practices like acupuncture, meditation, and tai chi.

In many cases, ethnomedicine overlaps with cultural psychiatry, which is the study of the psychiatric state of a population in reference to cultural characteristics. Cultural psychiatrists are especially interested in psychiatric conditions that appear to be tied to specific geographic areas or cultures. For instance, in Malaysia, the phenomenon of a person suddenly launching a violent public attack on random bystanders following a depressive episode has been termed "amok" (as in "running amok"). This condition has since been identified elsewhere, but was first diagnosed among Malaysian cultures and was considered in some respects unique to that region.

Ethnomedicine also deals with psychological and sociological concepts, such as the meaning of illness within a certain culture. Different ideas about health, wellness, and illness can be informative in trying to understand cultural characteristics. For instance, a disorder such as diabetes may have different names, theoretical explanations, and level of social support or stigma among different cultures. While ethnomedicine has traditionally focused on indigenous ethnic groups, the methodology and theory also applies to communities in developed nations. For instance, cosmopolitan medicine is a subfield concerned with the development of health concepts in urban populations.

Medical anthropology encompasses a wide variety of research projects, with an interdisciplinary focus that involves both the physical and social sciences. Research programs encompass the ways that societies integrate health and medical concepts into their mythology and traditional beliefs and also study the philosophical systems that relate to medicine. Medical anthropology also looks at other forms of cultural expression, such as art, music, play, dance, and domestic rituals as they relate to the broader concept of health within a society.

Applications of Medical Anthropology

Medical anthropology has a variety of potential applications. For instance, researchers have conducted critical studies of economy and health around the world, helping to elucidate how economic and socioeconomic factors affect the distribution and effectiveness of healthcare. Economic health research can then be used to develop new healthcare policies that help address widespread health issues.

One of the most basic and common applications of medical anthropology is in the application of humanitarian healthcare. For instance, ongoing concern over the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, coupled with high birth rates and low levels of access to prenatal and postnatal care, have become a focal issue for medical anthropology research. Studies examining the way that health concepts, traditional medicine, and social and behavioral factors affect disease and health attitudes in African populations have been used to guide humanitarian and international healthcare efforts in hopes of helping African populations embrace essential measures to prevent and reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Medical anthropologists also provide essential data on global and environmental health concerns. For instance, anthropological studies can be used to measure the rates at which diseases spread within a population and provide data on the ways that human populations change, physically and socially, in response to health issues.

Another important factor in medical anthropology is the potential for the discovery of new and unique pharmacological agents and health/wellness practices. Medical anthropology has been instrumental in the discovery of new drugs (found in studies of indigenous medical practices) and in explaining how behavioral/cultural characteristics affect psychological well-being across different cultures. This research is widely applicable, and can be used by individuals in any society looking for innovative and effective ways to address health concerns.

Bibliography

"About." Society for Medical Anthropology. Soc. for Medical Anthropology, 2015. Web. 29 May 2015.

Good, Byron J., et al., eds. A Reader in Medical Anthropology: Theoretical Trajectories, Emergent Realities. Malden: Wiley, 2010. Print.

"Medical Anthropology." Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley. U of California at Berkeley Anthropology Dept., 2015. Web. 29 May 2015.

"Medical Anthropology." Harvard Medical School, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine. President and Fellows of Harvard College, 2015. Web. 28 May 2015.

Pelto, P. J., and G. H. Pelto. "Developing Applied Medical Anthropology in Third World Countries: Problems and Actions." Social Science Medicine 35.11 (1992): 1389–95. Print.

Singer, Merrill, and Hans Baer. Introducing Medical Anthropology: A Discipline in Action. 2nd ed. Lanham: AltaMira, 2012.

Singer, Merrill, and Pamela L. Erikson. A Companion to Medical Anthropology. Malden: Wiley, 2011. Print.

Wiley, Andrea S., and John Scott Allen. Medical Anthropology: A Biocultural Approach. New York: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.