Deck 9: The Dimensions of Culture and a Sampling of Current Public Health Challenges

Question 1

What link can be made between political-economic factors and the differences in approach to HIV/AIDS prevention messages discussed earlier in the chapter?

Answer 1

Political economic factors and difference in messages of preventing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV):
Cultural patterns of an individual's daily life relates to occupational opportunity and social class. This is political economic factor.
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) hinders essential social, political , and cultural issues and exerts impact over society and highly vulnerable people. It intersects with cultural territories using gender relation, roles, social stratification, inappropriate sexuality, and family honor or shame.
The disease intersects with charge over political issues, for example, global inequality. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been powerful in form of metaphors. According to S, the disease represents both as invasion and as pollution. The disease exposes as identity among victims that are contaminated or polluted.
Population group are at huge risk and stigmatized exposed by HIV as traditional usage reference to sexual diseases. HIV has been depicting in way, as a type of divine punishment or revengeful nature.
Diseases such as HIV, AIDS, and leprosy are viewed as powerful moral threats. It is fair to point out the disease at the societal level, when the individual is affected by stigmatized diseases such as AIDS, leprosy, HIV.
In such cases, many awareness programs should be conducted by non-governmental organizations and other voluntary organizations to prevent them. These initiatives will not affect political or economical factors but safeguard the society.

Question 2

How would you address HIV/AIDS risk in a context where gender roles create risk, but (as in India) are deeply embedded in cultural and economic patterns?

Answer 2

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) creates risk in respect to gender roles respect to cultural and economical patterns:
HIV is a risky behavior in I country is complex using number of cultural, traditional, ethno medical beliefs, and varied works that are available respect to current economic condition. B states that 84% of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in I country attributes sex transmission. Here, a specific population was at great risk initially. Now, it is been transmitted to the public.
The country has rich cultural and ethno medical beliefs across lines inclusive of the following:
• Family structure and gender: The patriarchal structure of family remains common. Female leaves her family to her husband's family. Here, the women confine themselves though abuse by her husband and knows about his extra marital affair.
• Religious traditions: Acceptance of one's fate (karma) increases risk condition.
• Ethno-medical beliefs: Strong belief that marital sex will not cause HIV and husbands do not pass HIV to their wives is foolishness. Male population in the country does not use condoms as disruption of body fluids. In addition, female allows male to go to sex workers than to marry another women against her.
• Other societal patterns: Sex of men with other men involves men otherwise married.
• Ideals that relate marriage and gender roles: Female has to be pure before marriage and men need not to be pure. Women are married on puberty though law states age of marriage is 18. Condom use is considered to be only for sex workers. Women who are married to men cannot ask him to have safe sex. Female social position is related to childbearing process. Sterilization is prevailing practice than condoms.

Question 3

In the case the Pima, the traditional diet and activity pattern was not at all conducive to obesity. What could you do in a prevention program that would incorporate that?

Answer 3

Traditional diet and activity pattern should be conducive to evade obesity:
Obesity is the condition in which an individual accumulates excess fat that brings a negative impact to the people's health. In case, the tradition diet and patterns of activity are not favorable to prevent the population from obesity.
They have to be treated with different methods. They are:
• The people have to be educated regarding obesity and related health hazards
• The people have to know which food has high fat content and which does not
• The people should have an initial diet plan as help that can be followed as routine
• The people should exercise or involve in physical activity as required on daily basis
• The people have to track their body mass index habitually

Question 4

Sumo wrestlers are admired cultural icons. Do you think people think of them as obese or unhealthy?

Question 5

What aspects of culture are at work in behaviors and attitudes about violence among youth?