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Assignment #5/Joan Kronlein Question: Is access to health care a universal human right?

To answer the above question, some aspects of the question itself need to be clarified. The terms access, health, health care, and universal human right need to first be defined within a global context. As we have been learning in this class, all the above terms can have different meanings within different cultural groups. To define the words using Western cultural norms, my answer is yes, access to health care is a universal human right. But stating this and putting this into practice globally requires defining the terms. Access, according to the dictionary, is a means of approaching, entering, exiting, communicating with, or making use of (Farlex, 2012, Access). A means of from a western perspective, is defined as getting to a place. This can be either from a bus, car, walking, mobile unit, bicycle, etc. In terms of a third world country or a culture that lives in the mountains, where buses, trains, and walking is not possible, then access becomes a term that has a different meaning. A means of getting to health care would imply that the medical care would need to go to the mountainous area where the population is located. The Western perspective assumes that health care is available therefore our problem is getting people to it. In other areas of the world, it is getting health care to the people in remote locations. Health, as we have also learned in this class, is not a universal term, either. Health in one culture is not defined the same as in other cultures. Health is really a multidimensional and holistic concept, which includes physical health, psychological health, social health, and spiritual health (Helmans, 2007, p. 127). As in the book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Fadiman, health and illness, as defined by the Western physicians, is not the same thing to the family in the book. Having seizures was a blessing for the patient and the family, whereas the

physicians viewed seizures as an illness that they had to try to correct. So the term health needs to be defined by each culture that will be impacted by the health care. Health care also needs to be defined in terms of each culture. Helman (2007) states that a Societys health care system cannot be studied in isolation from other aspects of that society, especially its social, religious, political and economic organization (p. 81). In its basic form, the term health care is about caring for the health of people. Some cultures require the use of shamans, or rituals as part of caring for health. Because some cultures health is heavily rooted in religion, it is then imperative that providing for health care for these groups involves more than just physicians and medical care, but also religious leaders. This is a big factor in delivering health care to certain cultural groups. Health care needs to be culture specific. The term universal human right is an even bigger term to define. Universal implies the same for everyone, but in looking at each component of the statement, it is clear that to deliver health care universally, it cannot be universal. Health care will have to work within each cultures diversity; otherwise, cultures that do not subscribe to Western medicine will not work toward accessing, or utilizing the health care that may be available to them. As the above clarification points out, the question of access to health care as a universal human right seems simple from a Western perspective, but in reality it is very complicated by the different cultures that will need that healthcare throughout the world. A better statement, instead of a question, is then, within the context of ones own culture, healthcare that is culture specific, and easily made use of by the people it is meant to help, is a basic human right. According to Helman (2007), Future research in medical anthropology is likely to focus not only on how certain cultural and social factors can damage individual health, but also on the health of the

human species as a whole. This will involve adoptinga holistic view of complex interactions between cultures, economic systems, political organizations and ecology of the planet itself (p. 425). This diversity of cultures and the simple act of defining terms within all of the cultures that exist is what will make access to health care as a universal human right difficult to provide. On the surface, access to healthcare is a universal and basic human right. Reference Helman, C. G., (2007). Culture, Health and Illness (5th ed.). Hodder Arnold: Livre, UK

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