GOOD MORNING

SOCIO-CULTURAL
FACTORS IN FAMILY
CONTENTS
• Concepts of Etiology and cure
• Environmental sanitation
• Food habits
• Mother and child health
• Personal hygiene
• Sex and marriage
Socio-cultural Factors- Introduction

• Culture: Learned behavior which is socially

acquired
• Culture stands for the customs, beliefs, laws,
religion and moral percept as a member of
society
• Some are: 1. Useless
2. Positively Harmful
3. Have positive values
Cultural Factors in India
• Concepts of aetiology and cure
• Environmental sanitation
• Food Habits
• Mother and child health
• Personal Hygiene
• Sex and Marriage
1.Concepts etiology and cure
• Supernatural Causes:
- Wrath of Gods and Goddesses (smallpox and
chickenpox)
- Breach of Taboo (Venereal diseases)
- Past sins (Leprosy and Tuberculosis)
- Evil eye
- Spirit or ghost intrusion
1.Concepts etiology and cure (contd.)

• Physical Causes:
- The effect of Weather
- Impure water
- Impure blood
 2.Environmental Sanitation
• Disposal of Human Excreta: Ignorance in rural
areas about infectious feces promotes fly
breeding
• Disposal of Wastes: Ignorance in rural areas
about mosquito breeding in waste water
• Water Supply: Holy water may lead to Cholera
and Gastroenteritis
• Housing: Katcha houses with no ventilation in
rural areas
3.Food Habits
• Food habits have deep psychological roots
• Muslims fast
• Alcohol drinks are tabooed by Muslims and
high-caste Hindus
• Eating and Drinking from common utensils is
considered brotherhood
• Hindu women often take left over food by
their husband
4.Mother and Child health
Good Bad
• Prolonged breastfeeding • Some foods (eg. Fish, meat,
• Oil bath egg) are forbidden during
• Massage pregnancy
• Exposure to sun • Deliveries are conducted by
traditional untrained Dai
• No breast feed during the
first 3 days of birth because
of the belief that colostrum
might be harmful
4.Mother and Child health (contd.)

• Unimportant: - Piercing ear/nose

-Topical application of oil on
anterior fontanelle
• Uncertain: Application of Surma/Kajal leads to
trachoma
5.Personal Hygiene
• Oral Hygiene: 1. Many people use twigs of Neem
tree; ashes; Charcoal
2.Eating Pan leaves with lime; with or without
tobacco
• Bathing: Bathing naked is a taboo
- Women after menstruation must have a purifying
bath
- After child birth there may be 2-3 ceremonial baths
that time is fixed upon by a priest
• Walking: walking on barefoot leads to parasite
infestation
5.Personal Hygiene (Contd.)
• Shaving: Done by a traditional barber
-No sterilization of instrument used
-No idea of Micro-organisms
• Smoking: Can spread Tuberculosis
- Burning end of the cigar in mouth- common
custom among villagers in Andhra Pradesh is
associated with oral cancer
- Mother’s smoking during pregnancy may retard the
growth of foetus
• Purdah: High incidence of Tuberculosis
• Sleep: Sleep on the ground leads to insect bites
6.Sex and Marriage
• Sexual customs may vary among different
social, religious and ethnic groups
• During menstruation women are forbidden to
pray
• Late marriage may create many problems
• It is the usual social custom in India to perform
marriages early (at Puberty)
6.Sex and Marriage (contd.)
• Monogamy is the most universal form of
marriage
• Polygamy (marriage of one man with several
women) prevails in certain communities
• Polyandry (marriage of several men with one
woman) is found among the todas of Nilgiri
Hills
Polygamy

Monogamy

Polyandry
Conclusion
• Cultural factors are highly involved in matters
of personal hygiene, nutrition, immunization,
seeking early medical care, family planning,
disposal of refuse, excreta etc…….
References
• Park’s Textbook of Preventive and Social
Medicine
• Internet for pictures
THANK YOU