Culture, Health, and Medicine

Culture, Health, and Medicine

1) What role does medicine play in your family and for you as an individual?

There are two types of medicines that play their roles in my family. As for health-promoting medicine, such as multi-vitamin, they provide the nutrients for body needs. And for healing-medicine, it might quickly remove the symptoms of desease and restore my health. I believe in the treatment using medicines and healthcare of all kinds. The members of my family also hold the same beliefs and values as mine. This response falls under Dr. Edmund Pellegrino’s theory of “Hippocratic tradition” which is summarized in these words “tradition emerges from relatively homogenous societies where beliefs were similar and the majority of societal members share common values” (“The Theoretical approaches to Health Care Ethics,” n.d.).

2) What steps do you take to treat yourself when you are sick?

If the sickness is of a common recurring type, I would purchase medicine at the counter that conventionally help me to heal such symptoms or I would consult my physician. If the illness is not a recurring one, I would need to consult a physician. I would choose the physician in whom I have confidence to cure my sickness according to my view. And my family members, though with different background and beliefs, would also share all my views. Thus, this response would fall under the theory of Principlism where “principles were expansive enough to be shared by all rational individuals, regardless of their background and individual beliefs” (“The Theoretical approaches o Health Care Ethics,” n.d.). 

3) What do you do for a cold or for a headache?

I  would buy medicines at counter for normal cold or for headache. For chronic cold or headache, however, I would consult a physician. The theoretical approach to understanding health is similar to response 2) above.

4) If you take medicine, do you know what is in the medicine you take?

It all depends on the types of medicine I take. For example, if I want to promote my health by taking health-promoting medicine, I would look at the contents of the medicine, such as whether there is sufficient quantity of calcium per capsule for increasing the health of my bones. For those common medicines such as pain-killers, I would not check on what contents are in the pills. In both cases, I thus place good faith in the medicines or the people who produce it. This response would fall under the theoretical approach to health by the Virtue Ethics of the Anti-Principalism that “emphasizes the virtuous character of individuals who make the choice” (“The Theoretical approaches to Health Care Ethics,” n.d.). In the long run, however, the nature of my healthcare is overall very satisfactory.

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