Definitions

• Culture:
– Those qualities and attributes that seem to be
characteristic of all humankind.

• Culture survives if it can accommodate to changing

conditions.

• Binds a particular society together, and includes its

manners, morals, tools, and techniques.
• Society:
– A group of people who have learned to live and
work together.
• Society is a holon and within the society,
culture refers to the way of life is followed by
the group (society).
 Nature of Culture
• Culture is a group phenomenon.
• Cultures evolve from the interaction of person
with others, and a person’s belief or behavior
becomes part of the culture when it is
externalized and objectified.
 Components of Culture
• Norms
Specific guides to action, which define
acceptable behavior in a particular situations.
There are many norms governing our behavior.
E-g wearing cloths is considered appropriate &
acceptable.
• Value
value on the other hand provide more
general guidelines – abstract ideas
A belief that something is good & desirable. It
defines what is important, worthwhile.
• Many of our norms may be seen as reflections
of value & verity of norms can be seen as an
expression of a single value e.g
The value that life is precious
 What is the relationship between
culture and society?
• the essential difference is that society is
composed of people while culture consists of
knowledge, ideas, customs, traditions,
folkways, mores, beliefs, skills, institutions,
organizations, and artifacts. Society is the
combination of people with differentcultures.
• How does culture in our society affect health?

• The influence of culture on health is vast.

It affects perceptions of health, illness and
death, beliefs about causes of disease,
approaches to health promotion, how illness
and pain are experienced and expressed,
where patients seek help, and thetypes of
treatment patients prefer.
 Why is culture important in
healthcare?
• Respect is at the heart
of cultural competence-patients who feel
their healthcareproviders respect their beliefs,
customs, values, language, and traditions are
more likely to communicate freely and
honestly, which can, in turn, reduce disparities
inhealthcare and improve patient outcomes.
Impact of cultural factors on Health
• Concept of etiology & cure
• Environmental sanitation
• Food Habits
• Mother & Child health
• Personal Hygiene
• Marriage & Sectuality
 Health System
• Health system includes environmental
conditions, nutrition, water supply,
education, housing, status of women, social
structures, economic and political system
 Factors influencing health
service utilization
• Socio-demographic factors
• Age/sex of child
• Family size/ parity
• Education
• Occupation
 Economic factors
• Possession of household items
• Possession of cattle
• Possession of agriculture land
• Type of residential house
 Physical accessibility factor
• Availability of the transport
• Physical distance for Health Facility/Health
Care Provider
• Time taken to reach Health Facility/Health
Care Provider
 Health service factors
• Attitudes of health provider
• Satisfaction with the treatment
• Received medicines from Health
Facility/Health Care Provider
• Received prescription for medicines
• to be purchased from bazaar