Deck 14: Health and Illness

Question 1

One important reason that medical anthropology has grown significantly since the 1980s is that

A) the medical profession has increasingly relied upon anthropology for data.
B) intensive fieldwork has increased the level of intimacy between the anthropologist and the subjects under study.
C) more anthropology students have also entered the field as trained medical professionals.
D) anthropological research has become increasingly generous with how subjects can be studied.

Answer 1

intensive fieldwork has increased the level of intimacy between the anthropologist and the subjects under study.

Question 2

In Tibet,there are about 200 traditional healers known as amchi who provide health care,all of which is based on

A) the elimination of body and spirit as part of individual wellness.
B) the complete separation of body and spirit in the individual.
C) achieving balance between body and spirit in the individual.
D) the complete integration of body and spirit in the individual.

Answer 2

achieving balance between body and spirit in the individual.

Question 3

________ is the anthropological perspective most likely to be used to study and improve health conditions in Texas colonias.

A) Medical ecology
B) Ethnomedicine
C) Interpretive anthropology
D) Medical anthropology

Answer 3

Medical anthropology

Question 4

Medical pluralism is defined as

A) the intersection of multiple cultural approaches to healing.
B) the inclusion of medical experts in the use of local healing methodologies.
C) the local use of natural substances in healing remedies and practices.
D) the comprehensive study of local systems of health and healing.

Question 5

According to the text,Mayan women of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula typically gave birth in a hammock,during which time

A) doctors and nurses carefully monitored the progress.
B) midwives monitored the progress.
C) family life continued as it usually did.
D) midwives and other women ensured that family members were not present to disturb the mother.

Question 6

Significant changes in the Ladakh region of the Himalayas include

A) an increase in bartering because the cash economy has been undermined.
B) less stress once militarization in neighboring Kashmir decreased.
C) urbanization that has fragmented community life.
D) government rejection of the Tibetan Buddhist healing practices.

Question 7

Once scorned as a cop out,Psilocybin mushrooms remain classified as a controlled substance in the United States.Recent research has started to look seriously at their use in the treatment of certain forms of mental illness.This is an expansion of the practice of

A) shamanistic medicine.
B) ethnopharmacology.
C) pharmaceutical research.
D) biomedicine.

Question 8

The World Health Organization calls for a definition of health that includes the absence of infirmity,complete physical and mental health,as well as consideration for

A) cultural well being.
B) economic stability.
C) religious affiliation.
D) social well being.

Question 9

Ethnomedicine is focused on

A) the role of hospitals and doctors in the health care system.
B) the study of religious ritual in health care.
C) the local use of natural substances in healing remedies and practices.
D) the comparative study of local systems of health and healing.

Question 10

According to the text,Texas colonias are of interest to medical anthropologists because

A) the majority of the residents return to their native Mexico for medical treatment.
B) their rates for many diseases are considerably above state and national averages.
C) the majority of the residents came to the United States in the 1950s and are now in dire need of medical specialists in gerontology.
D) they are interested in the prevalence of "good genes" and good behavioral choices.

Question 11

Medical anthropology takes a holistic approach to health,which includes meaning,power,and

A) ethnopharmacology.
B) ethnomedicine.
C) epidemiology.
D) local knowledge.

Question 12

Biomedicine is defined as

A) the intersection of multiple cultural approaches to healing.
B) a practice that seeks to apply the principles of the natural sciences.
C) the documentation and description of the local use of natural substances in healing remedies and practices.
D) the comparative study of local systems of health and healing.

Question 13

The individual patient's experience of sickness is

A) universally defined.
B) defined by a doctor.
C) a matter of personal interpretation.
D) culturally defined.

Question 14

Medical anthropologists have recognized the utility of recognizing the difference between disease and illness as that of

A) a pathological condition versus an imagined reality.
B) a natural entity versus personal experience.
C) a natural entity versus a condition defined by local culture.
D) a natural entity versus a psychologically treatable condition.

Question 15

The dominant idea of health care in the United States-doctors in white coats,hospitals,and advanced technology-has been found by medical anthropologists to be

A) the most common point of access for people worldwide.
B) the least common point of access for most people worldwide.
C) the least frequently contested aspect of health care worldwide.
D) the most frequently contested aspect of health care delivery worldwide.

Question 16

While conventional wisdom attributes good health and longevity to good nutrition,exercise,sleep,proper sanitation,and avoiding smoking,medical anthropologists consider many other factors when looking at health.One critical aspect of health that is often overlooked is that of

A) farming methods.
B) lack of treatment centers.
C) inequality.
D) racism in medical education.

Question 17

The core values of good health in the United States-personal responsibility,hard work,and clean living-shape how Americans approach functional health.When considered in the light of the World Health Organization's definition of health,these values

A) are a key part of the definition.
B) do not address the problem of unequal access to health care.
C) result in complete physical,mental,and social well-being.
D) are not part of the definition.

Question 18

Ethnopharmacology emerged as a study because anthropologists wanted to understand

A) practices that were part of large,international pharmacology companies.
B) the role of herbal supplements in the dietary intake of Americans.
C) local use of natural substances in healing remedies and practices.
D) the comparative study of local systems of health and healing.

Question 19

In the view of "technocratic birth":

A) women are viewed as strong and capable actors in the birth process.
B) expectant mothers are attended by midwives and family members.
C) fathers are expected to hold the mothers while encouraging them.
D) mothers can receive epidural injections to manage their pain.

Question 20

Increased migration has increased popularity of Tibetan medicine in recent decades because it is seen as

A) holistic and embracing Tibetan ecological worldviews.
B) a way to challenge traditional views of Western medicine.
C) a rejection of ethnomedicine.
D) a way to develop sound entrepreneurial practices in health care.

Question 21

The biomedical model tends to overlook the importance of

A) using scientific means to diagnose a disease.
B) social experiences as a component of disease.
C) ethnopharmacology as a means of understanding diseases.
D) recognizing that biology plays a crucial role in disease.

Question 22

Fieldwork allows the anthropologist to accurately record the life and conditions of a people.These results are almost always shared with others-anthropologists,nongovernmental organizations,and more.Such efforts frequently lead to better awareness of a particular people or culture,and as Paul Farmer notes,do NOT often result in

A) lasting change due to shifting theoretical perspectives.
B) direct or indirect intervention to help solve problems.
C) an influx of financial support to those in greatest need.
D) a lasting recognition by governments that their citizens may need particular forms of help.

Question 23

Anthropologists have recognized that Western biomedicine draws heavily on

A) extensive medical education.
B) the experience of the doctor in a foreign country.
C) enlightenment values.
D) the willingness of the doctor to practice alternative medicine.

Question 24

One of the immediate results of the Zanmi Lasante water project was a

A) noticeable drop in infant mortality.
B) noticeable increase in agricultural output.
C) noticeable improvement in the physical health of those who had to carry water up an eight-hundred-foot hillside.
D) noticeable drop in the number of individuals complaining about the water quality.

Question 25

Paul Farmer's work in Haiti using anthropological tools-local language,understanding social norms and values,and how people organized their own reality-led him to recognize that these same tools could

A) be an impediment for doctors working in the remote rural regions of a country.
B) be a useful way to convince local governments to provide better medical care.
C) help doctors think about health in the broadest possible sense.
D) be used to train doctors in the United States.

Question 26

The study of health care provided at Alpha House in New York City suggested that black women and other women of color were better able to withstand pain than white women,and were often referred to as more "primitive" by the health care workers.These attitudes stemmed largely from

A) stories and folklore about black women's bodies.
B) stories told to the workers by trained physicians.
C) conflicts between physicians of color and white patients.
D) information that was the result of Medicaid policies and directives.

Question 27

According to the text,the People's Republic of China moved to institutionalize traditional Chinese medicine through a number of different strategies,including the export of the practice to other countries.This was done in part to

A) improve the balance of trade situation in post-Mao China.
B) develop better teaching and educational methods for Chinese students of medicine.
C) broaden the experience of the "barefoot doctors" in China.
D) develop ties of solidarity with other developing nations.

Question 28

Critical medical anthropology considers the intersection of health care and systems of power: economic and political systems,race,class,gender,and sexuality.This necessitates that a critical medical anthropologist

A) understand how best to combat social and economic inequality at all levels.
B) be prepared to challenge medical authority in instances where their programs do not function effectively in the area of health.
C) understand how to effect political and social change in the areas that most directly impact the place of study.
D) look beyond the Western system of biomedicine and the focus on individual care.

Question 29

According to the text,one consequence of the health transition is that

A) chronic diseases such as cancer have declined as a primary cause of death worldwide.
B) infectious diseases have increased as the primary cause of death in the United States.
C) overall human life expectancy has doubled in the past century.
D) there is a decline in health disparities across the globe.

Question 30

One of the most significant changes that Zanmi Lasante initiated in rural Haiti was the training of local community members as health care workers.Their success in identifying local health care problems and providing basic health services was due to

A) their unflagging efforts to build waste treatment and clean water facilities.
B) their ability to understand the local language,social structures,and values.
C) their willingness to work with impoverished peoples in terrible conditions.
D) their training provided to them in the United States.

Question 31

Among the steps taken by anthropologist and physician Paul Farmer to improve health conditions in the rural community of Cange,one of the most important first steps was to

A) provide a means of food production and distribution.
B) provide physicians and nurses to improve health care.
C) provide clean drinking water to the community.
D) provide a channel for foreign aid to improve the community.

Question 32

During the European conquest of North America,entire populations suffered due to the diseases brought to the continents by the conquering armies.In a very real sense,this early form of "globalization" held a type of medical migration.Medical migration as discussed in the text differs from this,however,in that today it

A) also includes the movement of diseases across national borders.
B) ignores the movement of faith-based healing across national borders.
C) provides a reduction in the number of poor patients seeking treatment abroad.
D) also includes the movement of treatments for disease across national borders.

Question 33

As discussed in the text,biomedical physicians diagnosed Lia Lee of Merced,California,as suffering from

A) quag dab peg.
B) soul loss.
C) a serious infection.
D) epilepsy.

Question 34

Surgical procedures are a component of ________ but are NOT a component of all health care traditions.

A) the biomedical model
B) cultural competency
C) illness narratives
D) ethnomedical practices

Question 35

Nancy Scheper-Hughes and Margaret Lock reported a case where,after hearing the story of a woman under tremendous personal stress,medical students

A) advised her to adhere to the prescription regimen.
B) questioned the veracity of the doctor's diagnosis.
C) attempted to analyze her illness narrative.
D) asked what the real causes of her pain were.

Question 36

The case of Lia Lee is significant for medical anthropologists because

A) her parents were never able to bridge the gap between their own medical prognosis and that of Lia's doctors.
B) The dramatically different approaches to the resolution of Lia's illness offer a good research opportunity.
C) the clash between the family's beliefs and that of the physicians' was a clear instance of medical pluralism.
D) it provided a window into the application of non-Western medicine that is difficult to document in the field.

Question 37

Chinese medicine conceptualizes qi as a type of energy found in all living things,something that must be in balance to maintain good health.This reflects the larger concept of health as a

A) harmonious relationship between husband and wife.
B) harmonious relationship between heaven and Earth.
C) a harmonious relationship between past and present.
D) a harmonious relationship between the body and Earth.

Question 38

Paul Farmer found rural Haitian residents experiencing vey high rates of malnutrition,dysentery,tuberculosis,and HIV/AIDS.Many of these residents were water refugees due to the construction of a hydroelectric dam and the resultant flooding.This problem underlines the difficulty of providing adequate health care in the face of

A) globalization.
B) socioeconomic inequality.
C) a highly corrupt government.
D) rural development projects.

Question 39

Khiara Bridges suggests that the statistical data for racial disparities in health,which indicate that black babies die at twice the rate as white babies,is due to more than just poverty and may be a
Result of

A) the failure to fully certify the physician assistants in poverty-stricken areas.
B) the failure to interrogate doctors on their internalized racism.
C) the failure of Medicaid to provide equal treatment for people of color.
D) the persistence of deeply engrained racial attitudes in medical training.

Question 40

The human ecosystem,composed of trillions of organisms in the human body,is understood as a

A) system of discrete,biological entities.
B) useful way to collect microbes used for the treatment of other diseases.
C) potentially lethal collection of bacteria.
D) complex microbiome.

Question 41

Illness narratives

A) are based on a physician's assessment of an illness.
B) are based on the personal stories that people tell of their illness.
C) are ethnographic studies of disease and illness.
D) are based on narratives provided by anthropologists to physicians.

Question 42

Describe the factors that contribute to the state of health for the residents of colonias in Texas.What is the infrastructure like in these communities? Analyze this situation from the perspective of critical medical anthropology by identifying three diseases that may be attributed to specific conditions.For example,what factors in the infrastructure might cause the spread of dengue? Do residents have access to health care? If not,what are the deterring factors?

Question 43

Anthropologist Arthur Kleinman's work involves the collecting of different illness narratives,which can be vital in the

A) treatment of illness and promotion of good health within Western cultures.
B) treatment of illness and promotion of good health in non-Western cultures.
C) treatment of illness and promotion of good health in the use of herbal medicines.
D) treatment of illness and promotion of good health across cultural divides.

Question 44

Bridget Jordan and Robbie Davis-Floyd studied expectant mothers in Mexico,Sweden,Holland,and the United States.Among their findings was the realization that different cultures see birth in different ways,and this directly impacts

A) the probability of the infant surviving birth.
B) the likelihood that the infant will live to adulthood.
C) the experience of the birthing process itself.
D) the differences in the way women in different cultures respond to medication.

Question 45

From the perspective of a medical anthropologist,all medical systems constitute a form of ________ because they are based in a particular local cultural reality.

A) ethnomedicine
B) ethnopharamacology
C) biomedicine
D) medical pluralism

Question 46

Which of the following statements accurately describes Chinese medicine?

A) Researchers have identified a uniform set of Chinese medical practices used by practitioners within and outside China that complement biomedical treatments.
B) It was suppressed as "unscientific" after the formation of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
C) Chinese medicine rejected Western medicine in the early twentieth century as "inauthentic" and "un-Chinese."
D) Chinese medical practices vary widely within China,from patient to patient,and also over time.

Question 47

Paul Farmer conducted his fieldwork in Haiti,one of the poorest countries in the world.This afforded a powerful opportunity to understand

A) the nature of inequality as it impacts health care.
B) the intersection of foreign aid programs and medical care in nonwestern cultures.
C) the nature of corruption in a nonwestern health care setting.
D) the failings of cultural anthropologists to better document their experiences with illness in nonwestern cultures.

Question 48

According to the text,medical anthropology's holistic approach sees health as something that happens in part due to a product of

A) environment and the absence of poverty and violence.
B) environment and the presence of moderate climate.
C) behavior and the presence of adequate education and nutrition.
D) genetics and the absence of poverty and violence.

Question 49

Khiara Bridges studied mothers in New York City.Her work revealed the deep schism between

A) doctors and health care workers in a poverty-stricken area.
B) racist attitudes held by black patients and white doctors.
C) government-provided health care delivery and that offered by the private sector.
D) the quality and type of treatment given to white and black mothers.

Question 50

We are taught that cleanliness is a vital part of daily life,that antibacterial soaps,cleaning products that completely eliminate the possibility of germs on surfaces,cooking and food handling that absolutely precludes the chance of ingesting a "bug," is an essential path to good health.This approach is now under scrutiny because of our understanding of

A) disease in other cultures.
B) human genetics.
C) human pathogens.
D) human microbiomes.

Question 51

Anne Fadiman studied the Hmong immigrant population in the United States.Her work suggests that one of the biggest challenges faced by this population is a lack of

A) English language knowledge.
B) Hmong physicians available to them in U.S.hospitals.
C) housing that permits extended families to live together under one roof.
D) monetary resources to pay for medical care.

Question 52

How have the processes of globalization and Westernization affected health care in the Ladakh region of the Himalayas? Specifically,describe the care provided by Tibetan Buddhist healers,and provide three specific examples of how this system has changed during the past thirty years in terms of how these healers are compensated,the introduction of Western medical approaches,and the global interest in this type of health care.

Question 53

One of the ways that anthropologist Paul Farmer put the results of his anthropological fieldwork to actual practice was through the

A) widespread translation of his fieldwork records into different languages.
B) founding of Partners in Health,which works with local communities in Haiti to improve the health conditions of poor Haitians.
C) establishment of an endowed foundation designed to provide direct aid to impoverished communities.
D) critique of anthropological methods that called on anthropology to be detached from the subject of study.

Question 54

What is biomedicine,and how do the practitioners view and treat diseases? Discuss two criticisms that anthropologists have about the European biases in the model relative to ethnocentric views about non-Western populations.

Question 55

What are the four factors that anthropologists examine when they study childbirth practices cross-culturally? Contrast the view and practice of childbirth in U.S.hospitals with the typical birth experience in Sweden and Holland.What do anthropologists learn about variations in the approaches to childbirth?

Question 56

Discuss how "traditional" Chinese medicine (TCM)has "gone global." What are two underlying beliefs that shape this approach to health care despite the range of areas where TCM is practiced? What is qi,and what does this type of treatment attempt to achieve? Distinguish between three different forms of treatment within TCM.How and when did Chinese medical practices become more widespread in North America and Europe,and which are most common in California?

Question 57

Anthropologists believe that culture plays an underlying role in ways that health is perceived,experienced,and treated.Using the example of the Maya of Yucatán,identify two specific aspects of the birth process and explain how these reflect local cultural values and community conditions.

Question 58

Since 1996,the rate of births by cesarean section (C-section)in the United States has

A) decreased dramatically as more mothers turn to alternative medical options.
B) increased dramatically,probably more as a result of cultural conceptions of childbirth and institutional pressure than medical necessity.
C) increased dramatically as the medical necessity for C-sections is proven by studies of other cultures.
D) fluctuated widely as trends in childbirth come in and out of cultural acceptance.

Question 59

The first step healers might use when collecting illness narratives would be to

A) request that the patient document all steps taken in the current treatment plan in use.
B) form a careful assessment of the illness and develop a treatment plan.
C) ask the patient to describe his or her perspective of the health problem.
D) attempt to contact a healer from the patient's home culture for advice.

Question 60

The example of Lia Lee and the tragic ending to her story demonstrates that health is a matter of

A) careful application of the western approach to medical care to ensure success.
B) both the physical and social body.
C) ensuring that both patient and doctor speak the same language.
D) placing anthropologists into U.S.medical facilities to avoid such tragedies.

Question 61

How has Paul Farmer's research shown that medical anthropologists can improve the lives of individuals who are suffering from illnesses? What specifically did he learn about the infrastructure,daily routines,and beliefs about illness that helped him treat illness and combat critical issues such as infant mortality? What did he find was the best way to treat tuberculosis?

Question 62

What did Anne Fadiman's research among Hmong refugees in California contribute to anthropological knowledge of the conflicts that can arise between Western and non-Western approaches to health care and treatment? Summarize Lia Lee's health condition,including how her parents' understanding of qaug dab peg differed from physicians' understanding of her condition.What were the experiences of this child and her family as a result of cross-cultural misunderstandings?

Question 63

Analyze the anecdote of the centenarian twins from the beginning of the chapter.Based on what you've learned about health and illness in this chapter,do you agree that laughter,close family ties,religion,and a simple lifestyle can account for their longevity? If so,how? If not,what other factors could explain their long lives?

Question 64

The widespread prevalence of HIV/AIDS across the globe has evoked a varied response in health care approaches to the disease.In some countries,such as Thailand,the recognition and acceptance that HIV/AIDS occurs among all segments of a population has led to a very successful program to stem the spread.In other countries,a mixture of denial that HIV/AIDS is a problem for all segments of the population as well as deeply internalized beliefs about homosexuality have resulted in disastrous treatment plans that have actually seen the instances of the disease increase.As a medical anthropologist,how might you approach the problem if you were attempting to understand the presence of HIV/AIDS in a country where attitudes towards homosexuality were both strongly negative and deeply internalized to the extent that people were reluctant to talk about it and about sexuality?

Question 65

What was the focus of Khiara Bridges's research in the New York City women's health clinic? How did the composition of the patient population compare to that of the medical staff? What noticeable differences did she observe,if any,in the treatment that patients received? To what,if anything,did she attribute any disparities? Specifically,how did members of the medical staff view their patients,and how did she interpret these differences as creating disparities across race lines?