Family and Community Health YL6

Family and Community Health: Preventive Medicine

• Bhutan effectively managed pandemic control through rapid response efforts.
• Vaccination campaign achieved 90% population inoculation within two weeks despite a two-month delay in vaccination rollout.
• Collaboration with medical anthropologists contributed to the success of health initiatives.
• 66% coverage achieved in vaccination indicates a strong public health strategy despite geographical challenges between China and India.

Biopsychosocial Perspective

• Focuses on intersecting biological, psychological, and social factors influencing health.
• Biological aspects include genetics and microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses.
• Psychological elements encompass behavior, mental processes, emotions, and motivation.
• Social factors incorporate family, community, housing, ethnicity, and class dynamics.

Bioecological Model

• Brofenbrenner's model examines multiple levels affecting individual health over time:
  • Individual: personal health and circumstances.
  • Micro: interactions with close social circles.
  • Meso: relationships among non-directly engaged systems impacting the individual.
  • Macro: broader global health context and its influence on communities.

Subfields of Anthropology

• Archaeology focuses on human artifacts.
• Linguistics examines language usage.
• Biological/Physical anthropology investigates genetics and health-related issues.
• Applied anthropology involves interdisciplinary collaboration on health topics.

Critiques of Epidemiology

• Critiques highlight the biomedical and statistical focus of epidemiology, which may overlook social contexts.
• Concerns about excessive reliance on numerical data, raising questions of subjective experience.
• Medicalization critique points to normal life stages being treated as medical risks, inducing unnecessary fear.

Social Determinants of Health

• WHO defines social determinants as conditions influencing health throughout an individual’s life.
• Major factors include financial resources, power, access to services, and social environments.
• Focus on structural influences underscores the importance of recognizing systemic issues rather than attributing blame to individuals.

Health Behavior Modification and Public Health Opportunities

• Challenges in public health include unhealthy lifestyle choices, pollution, and socioeconomic factors like poverty.
• Evidence-based science and advancements help to address public health challenges effectively.
• Globalization and industrialization can hinder progress in health outcomes and access to care.

Cultural Ecology

• Examines the relationship between humans and their environments.
• Human-centric perspectives shape health and medicine, highlighting the influence of culture on health behaviors and practices.