Reflective Essay: The Evolution of Medical Anthropology

This reflective essay delves into the field of medical anthropology, exploring its evolution and impact on healthcare. The essay begins by defining medical anthropology and its relationship to the human body, health, and healing. It then discusses the goals of medical anthropology, which include educating people about health, increasing access to healthcare, developing new medicines, and improving professionalism within the field. The essay highlights the significant improvements and experiences in medical anthropology, such as increased awareness of diseases, advancements in medicine, and changes in lifestyle. It emphasizes the role of inter-professional collaboration and the importance of experiments and research in driving progress. The author concludes by summarizing the key aspects of medical anthropology and its positive contributions to human health and well-being.

Running head: REFLECTIVE WRITING
Reflective writing
Student number is 0630929

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Anthropology can be of various types, in this paper there will be discussion about
medical anthropology. According to Brown and Nading (2019), medical on allergy deals with
the interest of health healing and sickness in any context that has been dealing with human
body. It has a great relationship that has been very and changing with the changes of time
with health care and healing system of medicine. As mentioned by Parkhurst and Carroll
(2019), medical anthropology has been dealing with various behavioural issues of human
body. This can be termed as the human health disease or health Care system that is being
adopted with bio culture. As stated by Singer and Baer (2018), it can be also termed as
multidimensional and ecological perspective. It is the most highly developed area in
anthropology, which is a subset of social, and cultural anthropology. The paper will be
explaining about the goals, experiences and improvement that has taken place in
anthropology in the past few years.
Anthropology in medical science can be explained as anything that is related to
human body. As mentioned by Brown and Closser (2016), it deals with any issues that are
being faced by humans during their lifetime with your body. There has been various changes
in medical science that has also affected the working of medical anthropology. It has been
observed that there has been are great growth in medical anthropology due to growth in
medical science and technology. In the words of Hunt (2017), explains various developments
of technology and tools that has been bringing change in the medical anthropology. Medical
anthropology is an experience that is being examined in the light of a particular community
knowledge about various diseases or sickness that is being faced by human beings during
their lifetime. It can be also explained as an anthropology that has been maintaining its
interest in cultures understanding the knowledge of politics disciplines and sub disciplines of
medicine. According to Panter-Brick and Eggerman (2018), health professions such as
nursing and clinical psychology and the ones who have been dealing with medical

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anthropology. To make it more evident and clear it can be also said as the medical science
that helps in bringing changes in in the health issues that are being faced by human beings as
well as provide them with suggestions that will help them to live a better life.
Medical anthropology can be considered as the inter professionalism in healthcare. It
has brought in various changes in the advancement of sub discipline of anthropology. As
stated by Warren, Allotey and Reidpath (2018), it can be also considered as the framework
that has been enabling students to identify and analyse the behavioural cultural social and
environmental factors that leads to who health issues or diseases in the society. There has
been great changes brought with the help of medical anthropology in the society making
people aware of the myths that has existed in the society and a barrier for medical
anthropology to improve and provide best health care services to people.
There has been great development in Labs and medicine in the past few years. As
mentioned by Joralemon (2017), cancer, which was one of the greatest issue that was being
faced by doctors and nurses once, is curable in this age. This is evidence that the medical
anthropology has improved significantly in the past few years. Moreover, there has been
various kinds of diseases in the modern world that are being treated by medical science and
people are being cured such as covid-19. In the words of Singer, Baer, Long and Pavlotski
(2019), considering various aspects such as political, economic and cultural backgrounds of a
particular area medical anthropology has significantly improved and has come up with
various medicines that has been caring people effectively. It has provided great changes in
the local as well as national organisations bring in changes in medicine. In the words of
Singer and Baer (2018), people has been more aware of various diseases and improvement of
medical anthropology have developed ways in which people can be treated in an inter-
professional collaboration.

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Various researchers have realised that there has been various changes brought in, in
medicine. In the words of Brown and Nading (2019), people nowadays are more aware of the
conditions that can lead to health issues and hence they has been taking initiatives to prevent
such diseases. Earlier people were not much educated and died due to various diseases that
were never been identified. Hence, that was a common factor due to various kinds of diseases
like malaria, dengue or cancer. However, the development of medical anthropology it has
been significant that malaria, dengue is cancer is curable in this modern era. As people have
become more educated and aware of those diseases, they prefer to visit doctors as early as
possible when they find any sort of symptoms of diseases. Earlier people used to eat things
that were not healthy and raw meat. According to Panter-Brick and Eggerman (2018),
consumption of such food leads to various diseases that came from animals. However, people
nowadays are more aware, wash vegetables or fruits before consumption, and ensure meats
are well cooked.
Moreover, it has been observed that providing inter-professional healthcare to people
living in backward areas all villages is much difficult than people living in in cities. As stated
by Brown and Closser (2016), as people living in cities are much more educated and well
aware of the conditions they can be easily treated. Another factor that has been observed is
change in the lifestyle of people is another reason that has helped medical anthropology to
bring in changes in their life. Changing lifestyle ensures that they lead a better life and eat
healthy foods. Hence, with the help of medical anthropology people can bring in changes in
their lifestyle and lead a better life. The development of medical science has been also
possible with the help of experiments that has been taken place by the researchers. According
to McElroy (2018), experiment is another important factor that has helped in the
improvement of medical anthropology

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There has been significant development in the lifestyle and habits of people brought
in by medical anthropology. In the words of Singer (2018), some specific goals of medical
anthropology that will ensure better health and lifestyle in future. The prime goal of medical
Anthropology is to ensure that people live a better and disease free life. There has been
various development in medical anthropology and doctors have been bringing various
medicines that will help in in development or curing of various diseases that were once in
curable. According to Joralemon (2017), the prime goal of medical anthropology is to make
people lead a disease free life taking up activities that will help them to lead a disease free
life. Providing vaccination that will help in the improvement of health of the citizen in an
early year helps in in making people immune to various kinds of diseases.
As stated by Singer, Baer, Long and Pavlotski (2019), the below are four main goals
that has been established by medical anthropology to ensure better life to humans. Firstly,
educating people about health. Making people more aware of the conditions that can lead to
various kinds of diseases is important that will help them to understand things that they must
not perform in order to lead a healthy life. Secondly, increasing number of hospitals and
colleges where in people can be e educated and treated. Another name of medical
anthropology is to ensure that no people must die without treatment hence increase in the
number of medical colleges and hospitals with the help people provide aid as early as
possible. Thirdly, to invent various kinds of medicines of diseases that will help up in caring
patients easily. Fourthly, it ensures that there must be increase in the professionalism
excellence of medical anthropology that will help up taking up challenges by the doctors and
treating various kinds of diseases in the future.
Medical anthropology has provided with various kinds of experiences and medicines
that has been a great help for people suffering from various different diseases.in fact it has
also helped people take up different lifestyle that will help in making a better health and a

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better life. Medical Anthropology has not only brought in changes in medical science but also
in the life of the people by providing them a path that will lead to healthy life. In fact,
medical anthropology has been also dealing with nutrients that provides people with various
kinds of products that are healthy for their life and can be easily replaced with the common
products that are being used on a daily basis. It can be concluded that there has been various
changes brought in the medical anthropology, there has been great improvements in the past
few years. This significant improvements and experiences can be brought in medical
anthropology due to the effective dedication of doctors and researchers.

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References
Brown, H. and Nading, A.M., 2019. Introduction: human animal health in medical
anthropology. Medical anthropology quarterly, 33(1), pp.5-23.
Brown, P.J. and Closser, S., 2016. Understanding and applying medical anthropology.
Routledge.
Hunt, N.R., 2017. Colonial medical anthropology and the making of the central African
infertility belt. In Ordering Africa. Manchester University Press.
Joralemon, D., 2017. Exploring medical anthropology. Taylor & Francis.
McElroy, A., 2018. Medical anthropology in ecological perspective. Routledge.
Panter-Brick, C. and Eggerman, M., 2018. The field of medical anthropology in Social
Science & Medicine. Social Science & Medicine, 196, pp.233-239.
Parkhurst, A. and Carroll, T. eds., 2019. Medical Materialities: Toward a Material Culture of
Medical Anthropology. Routledge.
Singer, M. and Baer, H., 2018. Critical medical anthropology. Routledge.
Singer, M., 2018. Medical Anthropology. The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology,
pp.1-17.
Singer, M., Baer, H., Long, D. and Pavlotski, A., 2019. Introducing medical anthropology: a
discipline in action. Rowman & Littlefield.
Warren, N., Allotey, P. and Reidpath, D.D., 2018. Having Impact: Doing Applied Medical
Anthropology in Australia and Malaysia. American Anthropologist, 120(4), pp.825-829.