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Biomedical subjects

H Fabrega

Publications and source records attributed to H Fabrega.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

The scope of ethnomedical science.

The subject matter of the field of ethnomedicine is outlined in this paper. Basic concepts and problem concerns are described. The linkages which ethnomedicine has with the other social and biologic disciplines are discussed. Ethnomedicine deals with information pertaining to social adaptation, deviant behavior, illness, disease, medical taxonomy, folk medical knowledge, and systems of medical care. Some of the problems inherent in studying these issues are described. Attention is also given potentially rich areas of inquiry which, heretofore, have not been cast in an ethnomedical context.

Aptitude↗
PubMed1977

Group differences in the structure of illness.

The paper reports an attempt to study in a naturalistic and quantitative fasion the features of illness episodes. Such episodes, as perceived and reported by lay persons, constitute a basic datum in ethnomedicine. Yet, they have rarely been the object of systematic research for theoretical and methodological reasons. The paper discusses ways in which illness episodes have significance in ethnomedicine and in health services research generally, and describes a method which can be used in field situations to study them. The content, internal structure and organization which illness episodes have are given attention by analysing and measuring the components of illness in a panel of adult females who reside in the highland state of Chiapas in Southeastern Mexico. Comparisons are undertaken in the two most dissimilar subgroupings of the region. Some commonalities and group differences in the duration of symptoms and in the way symptoms interrelate are described. An interpretation of these differences is offered, with principal emphasis given to the social circumstances and to the (cultural) meanings of illness in the two groups. The procedure employed, which is consistent with the way in which vital signs are recorded in the hospital, lends itself to field studies of the way symptoms and signs of disease unfold in the individual across time. The idea of a language of illness, which is introduced and developed in the paper, is used to draw emphasis to the communicative and symbolic features of illness.

Disease↗
PubMed1977

Perceived illness and its treatment. A naturalistic study in social medicine.

This is the initial report of a longitudinal study conducted in a developing, culturally heterogeneous society. The study compares figures of frequency and length of perceived illness, subjective reports of biological and behavioural symptoms, and use of medical facilities in response to episodes of illness by female heads of households from two highly distinctive social-ethnic groups. Despite differences in socioeconomic status and cultural beliefs about disease and treatment, both groups showed roughly comparable rates of perceived illness, but certain differences were noted. The more prosperous Western group termed ladinos, showed they had had more illness which had also lasted longer, as well as higher levels of symptoms. The medical actions of the two groups in response to these episodes of illness differed. The significance of these results is discussed with respect to the multiplicity of factors which influence health status and judgements of perceived illness.

Disease↗
PubMed1976

Toward a theory of human disease.

The importance of the idea of human disease is revealed by the attention that it receives in both the social and biological sciences. It is striking, thus, that despite its certrality and fundamental relevance to an understanding of man and his social institutions, no theory which exclusively addresses human disease has been developed. The purpose of this paper is to set forth a preliminary outline of a theory of human disease. In the paper, an exploratory approach is followed. That is, the requirements of and problem areas which a theory of disease should explain are touched on. The material draws from literature in both the social and biological sciences. Some attempt is made to link the material to contemporary questions in these fields.

Anthropology↗
PubMed1976

Language and cultural influences in the description of pain.

Several lines of argument have been pursued in the attempt to study the meanings of pain descriptions in English. First, the component terms of pain descriptions were heuristically classified into primary, secondary, and tertiary groups. Attention was then given to historical features of the primary pain terms. These were handled as morphological structures possessed of a history which has included their entry into the lexicon and their progressive modifications. Besides constituting morphological structures, the primary pain terms are also semantic categories; the history of this 'meaning' dimension was given attention. The sememes which have been bound together with the various primary pain terms were discussed. Brief attention was the given to the contemporary meanings of the secondary and tertiary pain terms. This emphasis on the meanings of the component terms of pain descriptions paved the way for a synchronic analysis of pain descriptions in contemporary English. In this instance, attention was given to the meanings which descriptions of a pain experience seen to have currently. Two modes of analysis were followed. First, the metaphorical roots of pain were explicated. Analyses of the ways in which native speakers use the various pain terms suggest that a 'model' of pain lies behind these descriptions: this model is of a physical process. What pain is being likened to, and what can be likened to pain, in other words, involves a common semantic matrix which is rooted in historical and cultural factors. Many of the sememes originally linked to the various primary pain terms are still 'alive' and implicated when native English speakers describe pain and 'pain-related' phenomena. The sememes which were originally tied to early uses of the primary pain terms no longer have the specific association which they once had with the term; however, it appears that the sememes do enter into the overall contemporary meanings of English pain. Metaphorical transfers implicit in English pain descriptions realize one important semantic component of pain in this language. The second way of analyzing semantic components of English pain involved a grammatical analysis of paradigmatic sentences which realize pain descriptions. A pain experience space was posited on the basis of this grammatical analysis. Each well-formed English sentence describing pain may be seen as associated with a small portion of this space. The sum of the spaces which a pain term can claim constitutes the overall meaning space of that term. The vaious pain terms were associated with different segments of the posited English pain space. It is important that the various spaces of the primary English terms were not sharply bounded and separated one from the other. Instead, the spaces of many terms seemed to be largely contained in the spaces of others...

Concept Formation↗
PubMed1976

A behavioral framework for the study of human disease.

A frame of reference for studying human disease is presented. An individual's social behavior serves as the orienting theme. Special forms of social behavior are in effect what tie an individual to his physical and social space, and alterations here can lead to disease. Causes of disease can thus be linked to behaviors of the individual. Although associated with basic changes in the psysiologies and chemistries of the individual, disease invariably comes to affect the individual's behavior and adaptation. Different ways in which such behavioral changes can be conceptualized are discussed. The individual relies on these behavioral changes as the data for evaluating his disease and deciding about medical treatment. A model of how an individual processes information about illness and makes decisions designed to alleviate his condition is presented. Finally, the rationale and value of keeping behavior and adaptation in mind when studying disease are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1975

The need for an ethnomedical science.

Ethnomedicine is an intellectual area which embraces theoretical concerns that are relevant to both the social and biological sciences. The relation which exists between disease, social behavior, and human adaptation constitutes the primary subject matter of ethnomedicine. This relation is examined in terms of man's unique capacities for symbolization and culture. Since ethnomedical generalizations explain how social groups deal with a generic disease, they can be used to examine contemporary problems which involve the organization and practice of medicine as well as problems that stem from relations of the medical system with other subsystems in the group. Recasting contemporary social problems in this way may help to clarify their roots and sources (13,28). In focusing on fundamental properties of disease in man, ethnomedicine can also help to clarify the effects and meanings of disease and thereby make its control more rational. A theory of disease, an ultimate aim of ethnomedical inquiry, will serve as an explanatory device with wide-ranging applications.

Disease↗
PubMed1975

The position of psychiatry in the understanding of human disease.

The article discusses psychiatry and the concept of disease. This is approached by first reviewing generic attributes of the concept and how it has come to be used in contemporary medicine. Psychiatry's time-honored concern with alterations in social behavior is analyzed in the light of the generic attributes of disease. A holistic and adaptational perspective toward disease is discussed, and in particular, how psychiatry stands in relation to such a perspective. Alternative paradigms for ordering behavioral changes that can be implicated in disease are suggested. In adopting such a perspective, and rigorously exploring how disease and behavior interrelate, psychiatry becomes one of the disciplines that examines fundamental questions about man and social adaptation.

Biological Evolution↗