Human interactions and relationships transform cultural and social institutions over time, profoundly affecting society. Social and cultural factors that affect health include education level, exposure to violence, religion, the way the community is designed and access to healthcare. Culture affects the perception of health, illness, and death. The beliefs about the cause of the disease are expressed. It shows the approaches to health promotion, where patients seek help, and the types of treatments patients prefer. Over the years, society’s perception of health has changed gradually. People have become more knowledgeable about better healthcare services and the myths surrounding them. Therefore, healthcare has improved, and the general population has become more resistant to illnesses.
Higher education level has assisted societies in adopting better healthcare practices. In schools, students are enlightened on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This ranges from hygiene, regular check-ups, proper nutrition and exercising. Through formal education, students become knowledgeable in various ways of avoiding some illnesses caused by unhealthy lifestyles (Champion et al., 2020). Diseases such as diabetes, blood pressure, and arthritis can be avoided with proper diets and exercise. Formal education has strained the importance of immunization and eliminated the myths behind it (Schley & Abigael, 2021). Prevention is better than cure, which has helped curb diseases like polio, which were deadly in the past. With this type of knowledge, better health care is guaranteed. Therefore, education has improved healthcare as the country develops.
Society has had exposure to violence, resulting in injury, death, psychological harm and maldevelopment. Violence is using physical force to abuse, injure, damage or destroy (Garcia & Lorraine, 2020). Violence is a terrible way of solving conflicts. It has brought more pain and suffering than good. It deprives society of an able workforce. People have become aware of the danger violence brings to society. The harm caused by violence brings up huge unexpected bills since medical care for such tragedies is costly. Trauma caused by these events does not die quickly, and counselling is recommended (Kelman & IIan, 2020). People’s perception of violence has changed, and measures have been implemented to eliminate it since it severely affects the public’s health.
Some religions do not support modern medicines and healthcare options. These religious groups have caused a division among believers who have formal education but still believe in what they hear in church. Religious beliefs have prevented people from using vaccines and medicines as they claim that they believe that their supreme being will heal them (Upenieks et al., 2022). When they fall sick, they go to churches and temples to get prayed for instead of hospitals. They may fall prey to religious leaders who misinterpret the scriptures for their benefit. These leaders demand for offerings from them and tell them to believe they will get healed. These patients sometimes do not get well and die, whereas these illnesses could have easily been cured using medicine and proper care. Society has become more knowledgeable of these practices and is wise enough not to be led astray by misleading religious beliefs (Winch & Peter, 2020). They make sure their health is guaranteed since there are a lot of malicious religious leaders who want to make money from them. Therefore, religious belief has changed regarding healthcare services over the years.
Due to the interaction of people from different cultures, several traits have been adopted in society. These are food, dressing styles, and lifestyle changes. Certain food products have come about due to the advancement of technology. These processed food products sometimes cause obesity and lifestyle diseases such as hypertension. They are preferred by people who are always busy and do not have time to make proper meals (Singh et al., 2020). These foods are less nutritious than the traditional food that was previously used. These food products do not offer the body immunity when faced with infections and illnesses. Obesity comes with many health defects and can harm those affected psychologically (Keirns et al., 2021). Many people have fallen prey to bullying due to this condition. This factor has caused deterioration in the health sector even with improved technology. Awareness of the dangers of overconsumption of processed food has been put in place in society to prevent this habit from progressing. Therefore, obesity has had a negative effect on the health of society.
In conclusion, culture and social institutions such as family, religion, education level, and exposure to violence have significantly impacted society’s health. In most scenarios, it has improved the healthcare of society. Society has been empowered to use better medications and avoid all the myths around them. Higher education has shown how one can maintain a healthy lifestyle by working out and adopting a healthy diet. Being exposed to violence has proven the dangers around it, ensuring citizens avoid it for the physical and psychological damage they cause. Religion has created a rift between believers since they are torn between what they believe and reality. Due to technological advancement, people are encouraged to use processed foods which cause obesity and lifestyle diseases. Nevertheless, remedies for all these defects have been implemented. Therefore, society has been gradually improving in healthcare over time.
References
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Garcia, L. M. (2020, November). A concept analysis of obstetric violence in the United States of America. In Nursing forum (Vol. 55, No. 4, pp. 654-663).
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Singh, A., Banerjee, P., Anas, M., Singh, N., & Qamar, I. (2020). Traditional nutritional and health practices targeting lifestyle behavioral changes in humans. Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 10(2), 67.
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Winch, P. (2020). Understanding a primitive society. In Arguing About Knowledge (pp. 530-552). Routledge.
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