{"id":169,"date":"2015-03-14T21:09:07","date_gmt":"2015-03-15T01:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coolanthropology.com\/road-of-development\/?p=169"},"modified":"2015-05-01T01:26:15","modified_gmt":"2015-05-01T05:26:15","slug":"healthcare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/coolanthropology.com\/road-of-development\/start\/healthcare\/","title":{"rendered":"HEALTHCARE"},"content":{"rendered":"

Health is our third stop on the development road, with clinics and hospitals often following closely behind the school and churches, providing access to medicines and, oftentimes, places to give birth outside the home. At the health station, we will consider how changing healthcare opportunities have influenced new ways of viewing the body and wellness in general, in addition to what this access to type of care has meant to the health of community members.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Healthcare is maintained and restored in many ways throughout the world. \u00a0Projects promoting access to healthcare, through the lens of development, are often focused around the building and staffing of health clinics and hospitals. \u00a0Providing easier access to the medications, vaccines and services provided in these settings has undoubtedly enhanced and saved countless lives around the world. \u00a0This access, while providing a welcome choice for many, cannot be separated from the fundamental issues of power and control that characterizes the clinician\/patient relationship (Foucault 1963). \u00a0Language barriers reflect and exacerbate the imbalance of power and treatments can be administered without the informed consent of the patient. \u00a0The message is that the knowledge and power of the clinician are far superior to that of the patient, reinforcing colonial inequities and removing autonomy. \u00a0While high-profile cases of medical experimentation on vulnerable populations are undeniable, conversations about doctors being sent to developing countries to \u201cpractice\u201d on indigenous patients still occur. \u00a0In more subtle expressions of power, top-down educational materials available through clinics and programs can be confusing and inappropriate for the communities they are intended to serve. \u00a0Individuals respond in many ways, often using this mistrust to develop strategies to use a pluralistic model in making healthcare decisions (Resser 2012). \u00a0Utilizing multiple avenues to achieve health is a strategy that supports a more holistic model of a healthy person. \u00a0The World Health Organization defines health as, \u201ca state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.\u201d \u00a0Using this definition, the loss of autonomy, changing land use, social restructuring and almost any aspect of daily life can have an effect on health. \u00a0Sometimes physical health can be achieved at the expense of more far-reaching well-being, with self-reports showing declining health and wellness while physical statistics showing health improvement (Izquierdo 2005). \u00a0Interestingly, this conflicting health status was observed in a community in which resource extraction was taking place. \u00a0The increased infrastructure associated with the extraction had brought programs to increase access to improvements in physical health but had created an environment in which community members felt less healthy. Healthcare arrived at the expense of health.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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