Medical Anthropology

Medical anthropology is a good example of how anthropologists have been able to relate the natural sciences to the humanities. It is the study of how people in different cultural settings experience health and illness. Such experiences are examined in the light of a particular community's knowledge about sickness and misfortune, in relation to broader moral and religious ideas. Recent examples of the kinds of studies undertaken by medical anthropologists include research into the impact of AIDS on Central African societies, the consequences of the traumas of war on families in Sri Lanka and Guatemala, the impact of the new reproductive technologies (for example, in vitro fertilisation) on British notions of 'the family', the impact of malnutrition on Brazilian ideas of children's illness, the appearance of new illnesses like multiple personality disorder and chronic fatigue (Gulf War Syndrome) and the effects of migration on the mental health of ethnic minority groups.

At the moment, medical anthropology is trying to maintain its cultural interest in questions of knowledge, meaning and politics in the broader discipline of anthropology without becoming simply an 'applied' sub-discipline. Graduates who have studied medical anthropology are attracted to careers in international aid and social services, and health professions such as nursing and clinical psychology.

Text written by: Professor Roland Littlewood (reproduced with author’s permission)

Postgraduate Degree Programmes in the UK

Brunel University 

 
Durham University 

University of Edinburgh 

Oxford University 

University of Sussex 

University College London 

Recommended Resources

General

http://anthro.palomar.edu/medical/default.htm - excellent online tutorials on medical anthropology written by Dr.Denis O’Neil from Palomer College.

http://www.who.int/en/- The World Health Organisation is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.


Professional Organisations, Groups, and Associations

EASA Medical Anthropology Network – The European Association of Social Anthropologists has a medical anthropology network which aims to strengthen the subfield by enabling exchange of information and increasing opportunities for collaboration.

International Society for Ethnopharmacology (ISE)– ISE promotes interdisciplinary research in medical anthropology and seeks to understand the cultural and the pharmacological dimensions of human medicinal plant use everywhere.

Society for Medical Anthropology – A section of the American Anthropological Association comprising an active research community supporting the endeavours of medical anthropologists and their colleagues in allied social science fields.

Books

Culture, Health and Illness, Fifth Edition
By: Cecil G Helman  (Hodder Arnold, 2007)

Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights and the New War on  the Poor
By: Paul Farmer (University of California Press, 2003)

The Body Silent
By: Robert F. Murphy (W.W. Norton & Co Inc,1990)

Films 

The Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) has one of the largest ethnographic film libraries in Europe. Films are available for hire, sale, or loan for educational and academic purposes. Click here for a list of films the RAI distirbutes on Medical Anthropology. 

Disclaimer: The above information is provided for information and guidance only. It should not be interpreted as endorsement or otherwise by the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) for any external institution listed.  Furthermore, the RAI accepts no responsibility for material created by external parties or the content of external websites.