Anthropology and International Health: South Asian Case Studies (Culture, Illness and Healing)

Recognizing the significance of cultural aspects in the practice of medicine, this book places a strong emphasis on the social structure, customs, and history of the indigenous population and its ramifications on health care providers. The book also considers the econo-cultural influences on the way medicine is practiced. By including chapters that focus on health care's sudden advent as commodity and the microeconomic approach to public funding for health care facilities, the Nichters explore a world in which money and patients' expectations play an ever increasing role in the way health care is provided.
In this recently revised and updated edition of Anthropology and International Health, prominent anthropologists Mark and Mimi Nichter examine some of the most significant health problems facing Southern Asia today and provide a critical assessment of the ways these problems are approached by those directly engaged in primary health care. This series of informative essays demonstrates th