UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, JAMAICA

College of Health Sciences

School of Public Health & Health Technology
Course of Study:
Master of Public Health

Cultural Diversity

Lecturer: Dr. Winston Davidson

Semester: Spring 2010
Presented by:
Melissa Peart
0906876
1. Choose a problem that you are familiar with that is causing harm within your
community/ communities that arise because of cultural diversity. Describe the problem
and briefly outline what public health measures you would introduce to address the
problem.
Cultural practices can positively and negatively affect health and disease distribution as they
impact upon whether an individual seeks professional care when ill and complies with the
prescribed treatment mainly due to the fact that wellness and illness are defined by an individual
in the context of their own culture with respect to birth, death, health, illness and healthcare. In
short, health varies according the cultural background and can mean different things to different
individuals based on where they originate. Here in Jamaica, many of these practices are
integrated as many cultures exist and acculturation occurs resulting in a culturally diverse nation.

This poses a significant challenge for public health professionals who are at times in direct
opposition to what is taught/ practiced by individuals coming from these varied backgrounds.
One such problem that has often been experienced is the practice of traditional healing systems
which in the Jamaican context may involve the use of Obeah or a spiritual herbalist.
Obeah or Guzu is the belief that there are supernatural forces that can be harnessed for good or
evil, for health or sickness. Obeah workers are believed to have the ability to create conditions
through which one's desires can be fulfilled. For example, they can cause illness, death,
separation, divorce, love and prosperity. Any illness that cannot be explained by medical
intervention is considered to be a result of obeah and in some cases individuals will more readily
accept a treatment given by an obeah man or other healers instead of traditional medicines
resulting in their conditions becoming worsened. A spiritual herbalist on the other hand, is an
individual who believes that the capacity of the body to combat physical illness can be enhanced
by the use of herbs coupled with religious ritual.
A few Jamaicans often utilize these services in an effort to selfmedicate and exhaust every
possible home remedy before seeking professional medical assistance. Related to this also is an
economic component as persons who lack the financial resources to seek medical treatment often
use home remedies to cure illnesses or maintain health.
For instance, disability and illness are believed to be the result of contact with evil spirits sent by
obeah or spirits that are simply malevolent. Natural causes for illness and disabilities are
generally the explanations used by those who are considered sophisticated. Those who subscribe
to the belief in natural causes seek medical attention and believe in the medical profession's
ability to alleviate suffering or cure the illness while those who believe in illness resulting from
the action of evil forces will use treatment regimens that entail the use of herbs, oils, bathes,
home remedies, consultation with a local healer and prayer.
In order to enhance a persons compliance with the treatment for different illnesses therefore,
public health professionals should make the effort to: discuss and prescribe treatments that
respect traditional remedies; incorporate informal caregivers- healers/obeah men and other
members of the patients support system in the process; affirm the patients cultural identities and
self concepts; help to accomplish various strategic goals and expectations; speak the language of
the patient in a literal and metaphorical sense; acknowledge and accommodate cultural diversity;
and be sensitive to the contextual nature of meaning.