The applied approach to medical anthropology can be described as improving health from a local and global standpoint. This can be put into different subcategories such as public health and global health. This is absolutely an important concept to understand and grasp because the health of the people in our communities, and even world wide is important for the continuation of life in the human race. I thought it was pretty interesting looking at different illnesses and diseases from different viewpoints around the world. Such as AIDS in Africa and AIDS in the United States. Clearly AIDS is a very bad disease and it was interesting looking at it from two different perspectives. Globalization can also help us as a human race to be able to expand our knowledge to help cure these diseases/illness in other countries and cultural backgrounds. I found an organization that helps deal with anxiety and it is called the ADAA (Anxiety and Depression Association of America). I found this organization to be quite helpful, as they give advice and suggestions as to how to treat anxiety from a public standpoint. A link to an overview of this organization can be seen below.Because there are so many people in the world today that suffer from anxiety, i am certain that this site, which is funded solely on donations and fundraising, as well as many other resources are very helpful for these people.
I think there are several ways that people could use anthropological theories or methods in order to better help or understand how to treat anxiety. An example of this could be to understand how the illness is looked at from a cultural viewpoint. Some cultures might believe that anxiety has to do with some sort of spiritual problem, and in the United States it is very prevalent with all of the stress that people are under every day. There are several things that a medical anthropologist could offer that a medical doctor could not. Medical anthropologists offer cultural viewpoints, looking at medicine as a whole such as global health and public health, and they also offer different techniques such as offering a shaman or some sort of meditation in order to find ways to cure an illness. Medical doctors always turn to medicine to help a patient, rather than other remedies. I believe that a medical doctor would also look the idea of cultural differences and variations that people have as they come in seeking medical attention. I find it to be quite beneficial to have a medical anthropologist present, whom has studied the different cultures and differences of people all around the world in relation to medicine. I have not personally dealt with a medical anthropologist in relation to me anxiety, but I'm absolutely certain that it would help. References https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiDy0emM2FQ |
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