Cross-Cultural Health Perspectives Essay Example

Cross Cross-Cultural Health Perspectives Paper Cross-Cultural Health Perspectives Paper The health of an individual, the family and the larger community is not determined by individual characteristics only; the social and cultural context plays a significant role in determining it (Airhihenbuwa, 1995). The influence of culture in health matters is especially pronounced in African societies where individual behavior is greatly influenced by the values held for the extended family and the community at large (Airhihenbuwa, 2004). As part of meeting emerging standards of care, the context of cultural and social attributes should be put into consideration so that the most appropriate nature of interventions and their timeliness can be determined. This research paper will review this approach in a case study of HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Discussion Culture has been shown to be a major factor in the ways that the HIV/AIDS pandemic has impacted on the society in South Africa. This is due to the beliefs and values that relate to sexuality including the time to become sexually active, the number of sexual partners to have and whether or not to use condoms as protection (Airhihenbuwa, 2004). Issues have also been raised about the sharing of needles and syringes outside the clinical context like in drug abuse and other traditional rituals. The HIV and AIDS pandemic has either wore down or in the least compromised belief and practice of many efficient traditional responses to illness in South African communities (Buthelezi Francis, 2006). Stigmatization of AIDS patients has been of particular worry and has eroded the value which the individuals, family and the community in general had the responsibility of taking care of the ailing. Intervention designed to fight the HIV pandemic should focus mainly on the methods of prevention (Buthelezi Francis, 2006). This means that the government, religious groups and other stakeholders should embark on serious awareness campaigns to inform the people on the importance of responsible sexual behavior. The community also needs to be taught to accept HUV patients and avoid stigmatizing them (Airhihenbuwa Webster, 2004) as it only makes the situation worse. Of course, all awareness created should be in the context of culture and should consider and respect any cultural beliefs and values that relate to sickness and individual conduct within the society. References Airhihenbuwa, C.O. (1995). Health and culture: Beyond the Western Paradigm. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc. Airhihenbuwa, C.O., Webster, J.D. (2004). Culture and African contexts of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support. Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance, 1(1), 4-13. Retrieved June 5, 2010, from http://ajol.info/index.php/saharaj/article/viewFile/30064/22717 Buthelezi, T. Francis, D. (2006). â€Å"Living with HIV/AIDS. In Muthukrishna.† A. (Ed.) Mapping barriers to basic education in the context of HIV and AIDS: a report on research conducted in the Richmond District, KwaZulu-Natal. Pietermarizburg: University of KwaZulu-Natal. Petros, G., Airhihenbuwa, C., Simbayi, L., Ramlagan, S. Brown, B. (2006). â€Å"HIV/AIDS and ‘‘othering’’ in South Africa: the blame goes on.† Culture, Health and Sexuality, 8(1): pp.67–77.