CULTURAL BELIEFS AND PRACTICES THAT IMPACT HEALTH

1. CULTURAL BELIEFS THAT IMPACT HEALTH

Culture is the societal norm, values, and beliefs that a group of people ascribe to. It is the way of life of a group of people 

Cultural beliefs are the ideas and thoughts common to several individuals that govern interaction between people, their goods and other groups and differ from knowledge, in that they are not empirically discovered or analytically proven 

Cultural practices refer to the behaviors, activities, and customs that are shared and passed down within a particular culture or society. 

CULTURAL BELIEFS THAT IMPACT HEALTH 

Cultural beliefs can significantly impact health in various ways. Below are the various ways by which cultural beliefs can impact health.

1. Health Behaviors: Cultural beliefs influence health-related behaviors such as diet, physical activity, and preventive health practices. For example, certain cultures may emphasize the use of herbal remedies or traditional healing practices over modern medicine.

2. Healthcare Utilization: Cultural beliefs can affect how individuals perceive and utilize healthcare services. Some cultures may prefer seeking care from traditional healers or may be more inclined to the use of home remedies before seeking professional medical help.

3. Illness Perception: Cultural beliefs shape how individuals perceive illness and its causes. For instance, some cultures may view illness as a result of spiritual or supernatural forces, while others may attribute it to biological factors.

4. Stigma and Discrimination: Cultural beliefs can contribute to stigma and discrimination related to certain health conditions. This can affect individuals' willingness to seek care and adhere to treatment.

5. Family and Community Support: Cultural beliefs often emphasize the importance of family and community support in times of illness. This can influence caregiving practices and the social support available to individuals facing health challenges.

Understanding and respecting cultural beliefs and practices is essential for providing culturally competent care and promoting healthy living.

2. NEGATIVE CULTURAL PRACTICES THAT IMPACT HEALTH

NEGATIVE CULTURAL PRACTICES THAT IMPACT HEALTH 

Retting (2005) and Mumbor (2007) discovered some harmful health practices as follows:

1. Tribal marks: This is done by cutting the body, face, belly etc (scarification) with unsterilized instruments can lead to infection. Easy identification of tribal marks will also deprive them from attending ante-natal clinic because they will be easily identified by the members in the health centre and they also believe that this tribal mark can protect them from evil and prevent them from contacting diseases.

2. Widow’s inheritance: In some culture, when a woman loses her husband to death, it is expected that any member of the deceased can inherit the widow and her children. Some women are not happy to marry any member of her late husband’s family. This affects her mental health.

3. Language difficulties: Inability of an individual to comprehend the language used is otherwise known as language barriers. This is communication barriers among people of different tribes. There is no way a person from Hausa can communicate with a person from Ibo who speaks only Ibo language, thereby causing communication barriers. During health education in rural areas, if an interpreter is not interpreting the health information to the  members, the health message will not be comprehended by the participant thereby it is not improving the health status of the community members.

4. Female genital mutilation: This is done culturally by cutting off the clitoris which is the most sensitive part located at the opening of the vagina (genitalia). This is bad because in this process, the female might end up having complications like excessive bleeding which might lead to death, the female may never be satisfied of having sex and also may not have the urge for sex because the most sensitive part in her is being cut off which is the clitoris.

5. Early marriage: This is a bad aspect of our culture that affects health. When our young girls are being given out for marriage as a result of cultural belief. This will lead to early child birth and also during the process of delivery if the uterus is very narrow due to immature organs it can lead to a disease known as vesicle vagina fistula (VVF). It can also lead to broken homes and termination of education. The young mother also finds it difficult to take care of herself and her baby’s health medically

6. Nutritional Taboos: Some cultural beliefs and taboos restrict certain groups from consuming nutritious foods, leading to malnutrition and its associated health problems.

7. Widowhood Practices: Some cultural practices related to widowhood, such as forced isolation can have negative effects on the mental and physical health of widows.