Health Module
MODULE #7: HEALTH
Health and its Determinants (as defined by World Health Organization /WHO) Health
According to World Health Organization:
it refers to a state of complete physical, intellectual, emotional, behavioral, social and spiritual well-
being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
❖Lifestyles
– is define as the living/behavioral pattern of a person or a group according to its interest, activities,
attitudes, values and principles.
❖Environmental Factors
– refers to one’s belief system about health within the context of culture and not necessarily
biological/medical in nature.
❖Biomedical Factors
– pertains to one’s concept about physical health with the person or group relies on the evidence of
establish science.
Different practices and behavior of individuals/groups in the Filipino context of environmental
factor/cultural factors
➢Bughat/Binat
-is a Filipino belief about one’s illness that it will take relapse from previous condition due to the failure
of total rest; even taking a bath, doing household chores are even prohibited.
➢Buyag/Usog
- is an illness which is largely due to the indignant misdemeanor of the person towards
animistic/supernatural elements.
➢Amok
– a mental related illness which attributed to the person being possessed by evil spirits.
➢Kulam/Barang
-an illness inflicted to one unsuspecting individual due to one’s sins
Through voodoo or witchcraft.
➢Lihi
-a belief system among Filipino that one’s health can be vigorously attributed to the providence of
supernatural power.
The Cultural Diversity of Healing Practices
The vast variety healing practices are found around the world and represented in most urban areas. A
general model of healing includes the physiological processes central to the biomedical theory and the
practice of healing that have physiological, psychological, and social effects.
Traditional
The World Health Organization notes that
traditional medicine
refers to traditional Chinese medicine, Indian ayurveda, and Arabic unani medicine, as well as to
various forms of indigenous medicine around the world. Traditional medicine accounts for
approximately 40 % of health care in China, and 80 % in Africa, with methods including the use of
herbal medicines and animal parts or minerals, manual therapies, and spiritual therapies to
maintain well-being, to diagnose and treat illness (World Health Organization 2002).
Western medicine
is an evidence-based treatment of medical conditions with medications by medical practitioners and
other healthcare providers who engage methods developed according to Western medical and scientific
traditions. Its origin can be traced in countries in Europe and Americas; thus, the name. Examples
include chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation performed by doctors, specialists, therapists, and
nurses.
Alternative medicine
is any healing practice not supported by scientific method and biomedicine but is believed to havethe
same effects with that of prescribed medicine. It tries to prevent and treat different conditions with
techniques such as healing touch, energy, and herbal medicines. Examples are acupuncture,
chiropractic medicine, magnetic field therapy, and others.
HEALTH AS A HUMAN RIGHT
Health is a fundamental human right indispensable for the exercise of other human rights. Every human
being is entitled to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health conducive to living a life in
dignity.
Assessment Questions: ½ crosswise. To be submitted on Wednesday, November 20, 2024
1) What are the key differences between Western medicine and traditional healing practices?
2)Why is it important to respect different cultural beliefs regarding health?
3) Why is it important to understand culture-specific syndromes?
