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Kate West
Cultural Diversity in Health & Illness
Paper #1
02/28/15
Explanatory Models Across Societies: Healers & Healing
The nature of healing varies vastly across cultures. Each unique culture has its own
way of addressing illness, healers and the disease process. Often, biomedicine is presumed
to be the only right way of examining health. However, it is important to take into account the
diverse viewpoints surrounding health and healthcare in order to improve health outcomes
across all populations. Different societies have various explanatory models that identify a
unique way of viewing and handling health and illness (Wiley & Allen 2009).
Explanatory models are a set of beliefs that societies use to explain the occurrence of
certain phenomena. Within health care, explanatory models are used to describe a set of
symptoms, the cause of an illness and how disease manifests. Across different cultures,
these explanatory models can be incredibly different. These cultural models include the role
of both the patient and the healer (Wiley & Allen 2009).
The role of the patient varies widely across societies. In certain cultures, disease may
be rooted in an individual's behavior – such as Karoshi or death by overworking in Japan
(“Jobs For Life” 2007). In other areas, particular ailments may only affect a subset of people,
whether by age or gender. The complexities of explanatory models are highlighted by not
only the diverse nature of a patient's role in healing but also the healers (Wiley & Allen 2009).
Depending upon the societal values, a healer may serve as just a health consultant such as the physician in biomedicine; or the healer may serve as a health advisor and
spiritual consultant - such as cuarandero (Irwin). The role of the healer is often a highly
respected position. In turn, healers influence the political and social structures within various
societies. From providing financial advice to marital counseling, the role of the healer is often
more diverse than simply addressing physical concerns (Wiley & Allen 2009).
The all-encompassing role of healer creates a holistic approach to health within a
society. For example, when a healer not only provides advice for physical ailments but also
spiritual, financial and social ones – the healer is able to recognize how all these life
components interact in such a way to disrupt the individual's health (Brown 2009). As more
research is emerging in biomedicine, it is becoming clear that health is more than just
physical health. As defined by the World Health Organization: health is not merely the
absence of physical distress but rather a feeling of well-being across all the dimensions of life
including vocational, spiritual, physical and social (“WHO Definition of Health” 2003). This
holistic approach to health and healers is abundant in many explanatory models across
various cultures.
Due to the nature of a holistic approach to health, many healers in these societies fill a
variety of crucial roles in the functioning of the culture. In many societies, healers act as
advisors beyond physical wellness. These healers provide critical infrastructure to the society
that help to boost the overall morale of the culture. In “The Social Meanings of Traditional
Chinese Medicine,” the authors highlight the role that traditional Chinese healing plays for
elder Chinese immigrants in maintaining a sense of their Chinese identity. Beyond reaffirming
Chinese identities, traditional medicine also helps to hand down cultural traditions and roles
(Kong & Hsieh).
Some healers act as community advocates – assisting impoverished people with the
procurement of shelter and food. Some healers act as spiritual leaders for the society. As
highlighted by “Existing Roles of Traditional Healers in South Thailand,” traditional Thai
healers provide ceremonial and spiritual guidance (Suwankhong, et al.). Beyond spirituality,
some healers even act as financial advisors. Healers as finance advisors is a vast difference
from the stereotypical Western ethnocentric viewpoint that clearly separates doctors and
bankers (Wiley & Allen 2009).
Because healers often occupy a diverse set of roles within the culture, they also tend to
provide much more than just physical healing. As discussed in “Botanicas,” the botanical
shops in NY-Queens provide not only botanical healing but also provide a forum to share
information and resources. The places where healers practice tend to be perceived as a safe
space which facilitates the development of a deep community. For the Latin-American
population in NY-Queens, the social network provided by Botanicas is crucial. From parenting
tips to financial advisement, the Botanicas act as a gathering place for the Latin-American
culture. Aside from plant remedies, the Botanica also provides crucial social support
networks to a marginalized population within America (Viladrich 2006).
From Botanicas in New York to the traditional healers in Thailand, the role of healers
varies widely across different populations. Ultimately, healers are generally a critical
consultant for a variety of topics within a society. Beyond physical healing, healers may
provide spiritual or financial support. They may provide a place to socialize or a place to
reaffirm one's cultural identity. As the health care paradigm in America is changing, it is more
crucial than ever to examine the nature of healing in other culture's in order to gain valuable
insight into how to heal (Wiley & Allen 2009).
Works Cited
Brown, Patricia. "A Doctor for Disease, a Shaman for the Soul." The New York Times 19 Sept.
2009. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/us/20shaman.html?_r=2&>.
"Jobs for Life." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 22 Dec. 2007. Web. 25 Feb.
2015. <http://www.economist.com/node/10329261>.
Kong, Haiying, and Elaine Hsieh. "The Social Meanings of Traditional Chinese Medicine:
Elderly Chinese Immigrants’ Health Practice in the United States." Journal of
Immigrant and Minority Health: 841-49. Print.
Press, Irwin. "The Urban Curandero." American Anthropologist: 741-56. Print.
Suwankhong, Dusanee, Pranee Liamputtong, and Bruce Rumbold. "Existing Roles of
Traditional Healers (mor Baan) in Southern Thailand." Journal of Community Health:
438-45. Print.
Viladrich, Anahi. "Botanicas in America's Backyard." Human Organization 65 (2006): 407-19.
Print.
"WHO Definition of Health."World Health Organization. World Health Organization, 1 Jan.
2003. Web. 25 Feb. 2015. <http://www.who.int/about/definition/en/print.html>.
Wiley, Andrea S., and John S. Allen. Medical Anthropology: A Biocultural Approach. New York:
Oxford UP, 2009. Print.