Culture and Health Attitudes

This interview will explore the concept of how other cultures view health and explore the opinions of the person being interviewed in the case whether or not America has a healthier concept than their own native land.

            The World Health Organization (WHO) has taken the liberty to enter into the books a worldwide definition of "health". WHO defines it as a "state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity"(Matsumoto & Juang, 2013, p.180). Meaning that just because a person has no indication of any physical and mental disease, does not declare them a "healthy" person. It is when this person carries a harmony of the three karmas in life such as our mental, physical, and social selves, only then is when we can be considered to be a person of good health and good form as they would say.

            Additionally, it has been found that subjective well-being (SWB) is a positive force on a person's health and well-being. In a study completed by Diener & Biswas-Diener (2008) they have found that people who have demonstrated to have higher levels of SWB also have a healthier immune system, less heart attacks, and fewer cases of artery blockage. It is also important to note that those people who have high levels of SWB are also the people who tend to live healthier life styles (Matsumoto & Juang, 2013). The United Kingdom is the native land of my interviewee; he has lived in the United States for 9 years and 5 months. Both the United States and the United Kingdom have shown to have higher ratings of subjective well-being among the people (Matsumoto & Juang, 2013).

            My rationale for selecting this area of health and culture attitudes is having one on one life experience with a male subject who came from the United Kingdom, where in fact he grew into adulthood and then traveled to the United States to set roots. He is a great example of opinions from an "immigrant" on whether or not the overall aspect of living a healthy life has improved or declined since moving to this country. What are we doing different here in the United States that may be improving or declining our own health compared to the United Kingdom where he comes from.

            This paper will investigate the healthy life experiences our interviewee has had in since moving to the United States and how that compares to the life experiences related to health he has had in the United Kingdom. The person I chose to interview who has a lived and experienced different cultures is Mr. Jack. As we have said earlier he came to the United States from the United Kingdom 9 Years and 5 months ago. He is a 36 years old male who carries a similar meaning in leading a healthy life as do I.

            We both agree that leading a healthy life consists of not only our physical selves but our mental selves as well. A person who carries a healthy life style would have a balanced healthy diet, exercise regularly, and get good quality sleep. Mr. Jack and I both agree that on top of leading a healthy life style a person needs a good balance of work/home life and managing stress is also important (Jack, Personal Communication, February 2, 2014).

            In a recent study completed with researchers from eight different United Kingdom universities it has been found that the United Kingdom possesses a smothered culture and due to this there health care system is suffering. The main goal that is seen by health care professionals in the United Kingdom is that they would like to see "clear and explicit goals that are in line with a straight transition from ward to Whitehall" (Study, 2013). Although the United Kingdom has their own internal issues going on within the  health care system  I think having all these professionals wanting the same goals to be accomplished, is a few steps further than what we currently have as health care goals in the United States.

            Importantly, for the purposes of this paper, Jack has also expressed his concern for his own health changes he has experienced since coming to America. I know I myself have just begun to get into the healthy lifestyle a few years ago and every day brings a new challenge. Jack has expressed the "availability" of fast food and how inexpensive some items are when going to fast food makes it even more tempting to partake in. He also states that the time he needs to put into work here verses what he did at his employment in the United Kingdom is much more time consuming and this takes away from the time used to partake in exercises during the day. When he lived in the United Kingdom he was able to swim during lunches and cycle after work 10-12 miles, two to three days a week (Jack, Personal Communication, and February 2, 2014).

            According to Mr. Jack, currently, the national standard views in healthcare are very similar here in the United States as it is in the United Kingdom. One major difference to be stated is in the United Kingdom if he felt the need to visit the doctor there was no hesitation in the decision. Here, he states, there is much hesitation in the decision to visit the doctor because on the implementing charges and health insurances issues that could be incurred. The United Kingdom taxation is higher in order to offset the costs implemented by the National Health Service (NHS) but the "concerns" or "worries" about costs or referrals to tests and specialist never crosses the mind (Jack, Personal Communication, and February 2, 2014).

            I understand and agree with Mr. Jack as in the hesitation factor about the "possible" incurred costs of healthcare that could come out of making an appointment to go the doctor. The way the healthcare system is currently set up in the United States not every person has health insurance and many people elect to not take health insurance due to how much cost it comes with. The United States and the United Kingdom have both focused on their own countries health disparities. The difference in a countries health sequence is usually by groups such as males, females, and people of different ethnicities is called the health disparity. These can happen due to different ranges of a person's education level, poverty level, and occupational status (Matsumoto & Juang, 2013). Mr. Jack believes that their is a larger representation of a gap here in the United States of people who do not seek medical attention than to those who do not seek medical attention in the United Kingdom (Jack, Personal Communication, and February 2, 2014).

           

 References

            Matsumoto, D. & Juang, L., (2013) Culture & Psychology. (5th ed.) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learni

            Jack, P., (2014) Personal Communication, February 2, 2014.

            Health service suffers from 'stifling' culture, study concludes. (2013). Nursing Management - UK, 20(6), 6.