PSYC 3110 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Allopathic Medicine, Biopsychosocial Model, World Health Organization
12 Sep 2013
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Document Summary
Since we are cultural beings, an understanding of health beliefs and practices requires an understanding of the cultural, historical and social context within which we live. It is impossible to extract humans form the context that gives them meaning. An understanding of people"s reaction to illness requires an understanding of these culturally specific health belief systems. As societies evolve they have developed various health belief systems, knowledge of which is sometimes confined to those who undergo specialized training. This gives rise to the separation of expert or technical belief systems to the traditional folk or indigenous systems. These distinct beliefs interact and are in a process of constant evolution. Most people organize their beliefs in traditional folk manner, which are connected in some form with the expert belief system. Kleinman (1980) distinguished between three overlapping sectors of any health case system: (1) popular sector: refers to the lay cultural arena where illness is first defined and health care activities initiated.
