Role of Cultural Factors in Health & Disease: Presented by Nagu Date:27-05-2024

Role of cultural factors in health &
disease
Presented By nagu
Date:27-05-2024
Contents :
Introduction
Cultural factors in Health and Disease
wealth index
factors involved in social class

Introduction
Cultural factors significantly influence health and disease beliefs and practices among
both rural and urban populations. These factors, rooted in traditions and customs, can
have positive, neutral, or harmful effects on health.
While some cultural practices are beneficial, others hinder the acceptance of new health
programs, particularly when behavioral changes are required.
In India, the understanding of these cultural influences on health and sickness is still
insufficient, highlighting the need for more comprehensive information on customs,
habits, beliefs, and superstitions that impact health.
1. Concept of aetiology and cure
The causes of disease, as understood by many rural people in India, are
categorized into 2 groups.
Supernatural factors
physical factors.
Supernatural Causes:
Wrath of gods and goddesses: Diseases like chickenpox, known as
Chhoti Mata, are believed to be caused by divine wrath, leading to the
avoidance of medical treatments and the performance of pujas.
Breach of taboos: Some venereal diseases are thought to result from

breaking societal taboos, such as illicit sexual activities.
Past sins: Diseases like leprosy and tuberculosis are believed to
be punishments for past sins.
Evil eye: A common belief is that the evil eye can cause illnesses,
especially in children, leading to the use of charms, amulets, and
exorcist incantations.
Spirit or ghost intrusion: Conditions like hysteria and epilepsy

are attributed to spirit or ghost possession, and exorcists are called
to remove these entities.
Physical Causes:
Effects of weather: Heat exposure in summer can cause heat stroke (loo),
treated with folk remedies like oil and ghee applications and consuming
mango-phool.
Water: Impure water is linked to disease.
Impure blood: Skin conditions like boils and scabies are thought to stem from
impure blood, and neem leaves and flowers are consumed for purification.
2. Environmental sanitation
a) Disposal of Human Excreta
b) Disposal of Wastes
c) Water Supply
d) Housing
Disposal of Human Excreta:

1. Open Defecation: Predominantly practiced, seen as
harmless and traditional. Latrines are viewed as urban necessities,
not recognizing the health hazards of feces contaminating water and soil.
2. Thus the problem of excreta disposal is bound up with numerous beliefs

and habits based on ignorance.
Disposal of Wastes:
1. Waste Water: Often flows into streets, creating mosquito breeding grounds.
2. Solid Waste: Accumulates in front of houses, decomposes, and
is occasionally moved to fields for manure.
3. Animal Dung: Collected for manure and fuel, often left to accumulate.
Water Supply:
1. Wells: Central to village life but often
polluted due to bathing, washing clothes,
and watering animals.
2. Tanks and Ponds: Used for multiple
purposes including drinking, leading to
contamination.
3. Holy Rivers: Pilgrimages involve bathing
and drinking raw water, causing disease
outbreaks like cholera and gastroenteritis.
4. Step-Wells: Linked to guinea worm
disease.
2. Environmental
sanitation
Housing:
1. Structure: Typically kacha, damp,
poorly lit, and ventilated. Lack of
separate kitchen, latrine, bathroom,
and drainage.
2. Security: Few or no windows.
3. Animal Keeping: Commonly
housed with humans.
4. Cleanliness: Interiors are kept
clean, often white-washed or
plastered with mud and cow dung.
Food Habits in India
Influences:
Local Conditions: Soil, climate, and availability of food sources.
Religious Customs:
Vegetarianism: Honored in Hindu society, with variations in dietary restrictions (e.g.,
avoidance of onions and garlic).
Muslim and Hindu Taboos: Muslims avoid pork, Hindus avoid beef.
Hot and Cold Foods: Conceptual distinction where certain foods (meat, fish, eggs,
jaggery) generate heat, while others (curd, milk, vegetables, lemon) cool the body.
Practices:
Adulteration of Milk: Common for economic gain and belief that boiling pure milk dries up the
donor animal's milk.
Religious Fasts: Muslims fast during Ramzan, Hindus on various occasions, viewed as religiously
significant.
Drinks and Drugs:
Alcohol is forbidden for Muslims and high-caste Hindus.
Ganja, bhang, and charas consumption by sadhus is spreading to the general population,
especially youth.
Eating Customs:
Eating from common utensils symbolizes
brotherhood among Muslims.
Hindu women often eat food left over by their
husbands.
In some societies, men eat first, women eat last
and poorly.
Some people do not eat until they have bathed.
Mother and Child
Health in India
Good Customs:
1. Prolonged Breast-Feeding
2. Oil Bath and Massage
3. Exposure to Sun
Mother and Child Health in India
Bad Customs:
Dietary Restrictions: Prohibition of nutritious foods (e.g., eggs, meat, fish,

milk, leafy vegetables) during pregnancy in some regions.
Unsafe Deliveries: Conducted by untrained traditional birth attendants (dais).
Harmful Practices: Skin branding, administration of opium, and

drastic purgatives.
Mother and Child Health in India
Uncertain Customs:
Kajal Application: Applying black soot mixed with oil

to eyelids, intended for beautification and protection
from the "evil eye," which may transmit
eye infections like trachoma.
Personal Hygiene in India
Healthy Traditional Practices:
Oil Bath: Regular practice with health and beautifying benefits.
Turmeric Massage: Women use turmeric and other ingredients for skin
beautification.
Neem Twig for Brushing: Believed to promote oral hygiene.
Indigenous Tooth Powders: Contain charcoal, salt, and other ingredients for
cleaning teeth and gums.
Personal Hygiene in India
Harmful Practices:
Chewing Pan with Tobacco: Detrimental to oral hygiene.
Tobacco Use: Smoking or snuffing undermines oral health.
Consumption of Local Drinks: Risk of adulteration leading to severe health
consequences.
Religious and Hygienic Practices:
Circumcision: Practiced for religious and hygienic reasons.
Coitus During Menstruation: Considered sinful and avoided on hygienic grounds.
Reproductive Behavior in India
Early Marriages:
Teenage Pregnancy: Common in traditional rural families, leading to high fertility and
associated health risks.
Marriage Practices:
Polygamy: One man marrying several women, leading to large family sizes and higher
prevalence of STDs.
Polyandry: One woman marrying several men, potentially reducing population size but
also increasing STDs.
Reproductive Behavior in India
Gender Repeated Pregnancies: Preference for male children

Preference: leads to multiple pregnancies, risking maternal health.
Gender Discrimination: Men often resist vasectomy,
preferring women to undergo tubectomy.
Social Universality of Marriage: Minimizes issues of

Norms: unmarried mothers and illegitimate children, unlike in
Western countries.
Decline of Child Marriages: Child marriages are
becoming less common.
Wealth Index in National Family Health
Survey (NFHS)
The Wealth Index, used in NFHS-II, assesses household economic status and has
been validated across various countries. It correlates with household income,
health service usage, and health outcomes. The index includes data on:
Wealth Index
Each asset is weighted using principal components analysis, standardized to a mean of
zero and a standard deviation of one. Households are scored and ranked, then divided
into quintiles (five groups with equal individuals).
In NFHS-III, a national wealth index was developed, ensuring 20% of the population
falls into each quintile nationally, though this may vary by state. NFHS-4 data shows:
Urban Areas: 43.7% of the population is in the highest wealth quintile.
Rural Areas: Lower representation in the highest wealth quintile compared to urban
areas.

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Role of cultural factors in health &

Cultural factors in Health and Disease

factors involved in social class

Breach of taboos: Some venereal diseases are thought to result from

Spirit or ghost intrusion: Conditions like hysteria and epilepsy

a) Disposal of Human Excreta

Disposal of Human Excreta:

2. Thus the problem of excreta disposal is bound up with numerous beliefs

Dietary Restrictions: Prohibition of nutritious foods (e.g., eggs, meat, fish,

Unsafe Deliveries: Conducted by untrained traditional birth attendants (dais).

Harmful Practices: Skin branding, administration of opium, and

Kajal Application: Applying black soot mixed with oil

Gender Repeated Pregnancies: Preference for male children

Social Universality of Marriage: Minimizes issues of

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