Mohan Dutta: Culture-Centered Approach

Today is our last class of the semester. Last readings of the semester. What stands out? What would be the meta analysis of what I have learned here? What would be the key ideas that have come up on Culture and Health? Based on all of our reading from the semester, and the discussions, I feel these are the things that stand out to me: I know nothing. So much more to learn and know and apply. Articulating questions, concerns, and opinions can be tough when the materials are so interesting. Is everything hegemonic in nature? Is everything Eurocentric in its core? What are the legitimacy of efforts that are good at heart but are wrong on the approach? How can I really make a difference that is beyond discursive space and entry points? Let the journey begin. Purdue should make everyone take a class like this one.

they told me to participate & took my thumbprint while I clutched at the soggy food packet & scuttled to my field my baby wailing its a lot hotter now the fields are wilting like my aged mother Her partner.... My father speaks of glorious days of yore.. and I wonder shouldn't our dreams be glorious too? My baby's father.. strong and wise but he too gets scared with these men and women from town shiny white skins  fancy clothes, talks, ways why do they come here? our good doctor is scared too.. even the school master they come more now, regularly I store some food for them give them local things after all government has posted them for my baby I do not mind the hardships only they're increasing how much can I do? and then these visitors almost everyday.. interested in us our lives are so interesting they're good people they talk of dreams of glorious futures unlike my father.. It was better when I was a child my needs were few I knew little & did not have to

Just to let you "green eyed monsters" know that I will be posting my BLOG soon...wait....

This week's reading theme was Culture and Prevention. The overarching theme was how different factors (culture being one) play a role in preventive measures and perhaps cures to illnesses in today's world. Susser & Stein (2000) talks about how culture plays a role in the sexuality and sexual relations in the women of Southern Africa, specifically in situations of preventing HIV/AIDS. The authors conducted a study in different location of Southern Africa and tried to find out factors effecting women's sexual practices and birth control methods that are accepted by both men and women of that region. The authors mentioned many times how all their subjects were excited about using female condoms and almost in unison they said this is what they need. They say that "with regard to women at least, each community needs to be studied in terms of the local situation, and the preventive measures advised and facilitated for residents must take account of the differences betwee

Parts of the readings for this week dealt with the development of effective health messages. Kreuter and colleagues talked about the effectiveness of health communication and ways to improve its quality. They introduce a model of health communication planning that considers the source, the message, the channel factors, the receiver, and the destination of a message in respect to communication and how these components might be affected by culture. The article highlights that source credibility depends on expertise and trustworthiness. As much as I agree with that, I do think we need to differentiate here, because expertise can be different things to different people. For me, growing up in a biomedical world, expertise is defined differently than for someone who grew up around traditional healers. It was also interesting to read how messages are perceived differently depending who narrates them, showing cleary that receivers of messages try to identify themselves with the narrator, hence

After reading an article and remembering a discussion from a previous course, I thought I should post this video.