Via 100 entries or "mini-chapters," 21st Century Anthropology: A Reference Handbook highlights the most important topics, issues,
questions, and debates any student obtaining a degree in the field of anthropology ought to have mastered for effectiveness in the 21st century. This two-volume set provides undergraduate majors with an authoritative reference source that serves their research needs with more detailed information than encyclopedia entries but in a clear, accessible style, devoid of jargon, unnecessary detail or density.Key Features- Emphasizes key curricular topics, making it useful for students researching for
term papers, preparing for GREs, or considering topics for a senior thesis, graduate degree, or career.- Comprehensive, providing full coverage of key subthemes and subfields within the discipline, such as applied anthropology, archaeology and paleontology, sociocultural anthropology, evolution, linguistics, physical and biological anthropology, primate studies, and more.- Offers uniform chapter structure so students can easily locate key information, within these sections: Introduction, Theory,
Methods, Applications, Comparison, Future Directions, Summary, Bibliography & Suggestions for Further Reading, and Cross References.- Available in print or electronically at SAGE Reference Online, providing students with convenient, easy access to its contents. Summary
Contents
Subject index
Chapter 34: Medical Anthropology
Medical Anthropology
Medical anthropology
Medical anthropology is the discipline in anthropology that addresses disease and the health care systems developed to cope with disease. Medical anthropologists study the spectrum of cultural and biological factors that have contributed to health, disease, and health care systems throughout human experience from cross-cultural, historical, and evolutionary points of view. They address a wide variety of health and health care issues including cultural barriers to therapeutic and preventive health care; issues of bioethics; the effect of pandemics, epidemics, and natural disasters; the impact of public policy on health care, practitioner-patient communication in hospitals, clinics, private, and ethnomedical practices; nutrition; perceived etiologies and their effect on therapeutic approaches to healing; differences in the cultures of biomedical, ethnomedical, and other alternative health care ...
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- one of two dimensions of anthropology
- use of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and techniques to identify, assess, and solve contemporary social problems involving humna behavior and social and cultural forces, conditions, and contexts
branch of applied anthropology that focuses on social issues in, and the cultural dimension of, economic development
results in reduced poverty and a more even distribution of wealth
trying to achieve too much change
the tendency to view the so-called less-developed countries as being more alike than they are
the cross-cultural and ethnographic and bio-cultural study of global urbanization and life in cities
comparative, bio-cultural study of disease, health problems, and health care systems
a scientifically identified health threat caused by a bacterium, virus, fungus, parasite, or other pathogen
a condition of poor health perceived or felt by an individual
beliefs, customs, and specialists concerned with preventing and curing illness
personalistic disease theories
theory that believes illness is caused by sorcerers, witches, ghosts, or ancestral spirits
naturalistic disease theories
theory where illness is explained in impersonal terms
emotionalistic disease theory
assume that emotional experiences cause illness (e.g. susto)
one who diagnoses and treats an illness; often a shaman
• a health care system based on scientific knowledge and procedures