Cultural ontologies of cancer in India

Broom, Alex; Kenny, Katherine; Bowden, Vanessa; Muppavaram, Nagesh; Chittem, Mahati

doi:10.1080/09581596.2017.1288288

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Qualitative research sought patients' understandings of cancer, its 'origins', its meanings and subsequent everyday experiences. In-depth interviews with 40 cancer patients in South India revealed some of the affective components of these interpretations of sickness as well as changing individual responsibility and societal moralities concerning cancer (Broom et al 2018). Another research study conducted in western India utilised cultural epidemiology to gain insights into the stigma surrounding severe mental illness and deliberate self-harm (DSH) incidents.…”

Section: Indiamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Anthropology in India's Public Health

Gore

2023

Anthropology in Action

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Conducting research on healthcare systems, policy implementation and the impact of health programmes can systematically identify the gaps and challenges in public health service delivery in India. Anthropology is particularly useful for so doing, but the role of anthropologists in health policy and planning needs recognition in India, as they can evaluate the effectiveness of interventions through a cultural lens, informing the development of evidence-based policies. The USA and Europe are more advanced in the use of anthropology in public health, due to their established academic programmes, robust research funding and infrastructure, and effective integration into public health institutions. Anthropological analysis and intervention has the capacity to improve Indian public health practice, particularly in terms of inclusivity and diversity issues.

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Section: Indiamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Anthropology in India's Public Health

Gore

2023

Anthropology in Action

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“…While deep inequalities mark the Indian medical landscape in access to healthcare, many amongst the educated middle class in India have improved access to health information and demonstrate high levels of biomedical literacy (Broom et al, 2017). Many in India connect with their doctors on social media platforms and apps such as Facebook and WhatsApp (McIntyre, 2017).…”

Section: Contextual Background: the Healthcare Sector In Indiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Looking for Medical Advice in Everyday Digital Spaces: A Qualitative Study of Indians Connecting with Physicians on Facebook

Mishra

2021

Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers

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In a world afflicted by COVID-19, many people consult doctors through a digital interface or over the phone, as face-to-face consultations are almost impossible during a lockdown. The Medical Council of India and the NITI Aayog, a policy think tank, formulated new guidelines to empower medical practitioners to practice telemedicine in India in March 2020. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world and made digital consultations a necessity in specific cases, academic studies located within a health promotion framework in Western contexts indicated that patients have been very much interested in using social media tools to communicate with their physicians. Previous studies have also highlighted the advantages of information and communication technologies for patient–doctor interaction. Since changes introduced by digital health technologies have primarily been analysed from such health promotion perspectives that often adopt a ‘techno-utopian’ lens ( Lupton, 2013 ), it becomes imperative to critically interrogate how such changes construct specific subjectivities and shape our understandings of health and normative healthcare practices. Specifically, scholars have highlighted how social media platforms and apps act as ‘performative devices’ ( Johnson, 2014 ) that influence ‘everyday management of illness and health’ and help create the ideal of the ‘digitally engaged patient’ ( Lupton, 2013 ). In the Indian context, media reports highlight a growing trend in the use of social media platforms and apps by physicians and patients. However, academic research on such emerging phenomena in this country is still scarce. This exploratory study examines why some Indians connect with physicians on a social media platform such as Facebook, the nature of communication between them and their understandings of health. It uses in-depth interviews and draws upon neoliberal governmentality as a theoretical anchor. The findings show how the internalization of neoliberal values and assumptions are associated with participants’ search for lifestyle and medical advice in everyday digital spaces such as Facebook. This study strives to extend the concept of neoliberal governmentality to performances in everyday digital spaces such as Facebook. In terms of practical implications, the results of the study highlight the critical need for policies that regulate the medical content available in social media spaces. Most importantly, some of the issues highlighted by the participants in this study can help policymakers take adequate precautions while formulating guidelines on digital consultations, especially during pandemics and their aftermath when there is tremendous pressure to promote telemedicine.

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“…The person with advanced cancer and the family return home, but the family have little or no insight into how to care for the person. There is also considerable stigma attached to advanced cancer, particularly when it involves fungating wounds, and a frequently held belief is that cancer is transmissible 34. These issues compound the fears and sense of hopelessness for the person with cancer and their families.…”

Section: Background To the Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated management of non-communicable diseases in low-income settings: palliative care, primary care and community health synergies

Munday¹,

Kanth²,

Khristi³

et al. 2018

BMJ Support Palliat Care

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Palliative care is recognised as a fundamental component of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), which individual countries, led by the United Nations and the WHO, are committed to achieving worldwide by 2030—Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.8. As the incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCD) in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) increases, their prevention and control are the central aspects of UHC in these areas. While the main focus is on reducing premature mortality from NCDs (SDG 3.4), palliative care is becoming increasingly important in LMICs, in which 80% of the need is found. This paper discusses the challenges of providing comprehensive NCD management in LMICs, the role of palliative care in addressing the huge and growing burden of serious health-related suffering, and also its scope for leveraging various aspects of primary care NCD management. Drawing on experiences in India and Nepal, and particularly a project on the India–Nepal border in which palliative care, community health and primary care-led NCD management are being integrated, we explore the synergies arising and describe a model where palliative care is integral to the whole spectrum of NCD management, from promotion and prevention, through treatment, rehabilitation and palliation. We believe this model could provide a framework for integrated NCD management more generally in rural India and Nepal and also other LMICs as they work to make NCD management as part of UHC a reality.

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Cultural ontologies of cancer in India

Cited by 7 publications

References 33 publications

The Role of Anthropology in India's Public Health

The Role of Anthropology in India's Public Health

Looking for Medical Advice in Everyday Digital Spaces: A Qualitative Study of Indians Connecting with Physicians on Facebook

Integrated management of non-communicable diseases in low-income settings: palliative care, primary care and community health synergies

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