HFKK00021U In Sickness and in Health: Southeast Asian Perspectives

Cultural beliefs influence health-related behaviour all the time. A person’s illness is often all about the meaning that the person brings to their symptoms.  This course examines the myriad ways of thinking about health, illness and seeking treatment in Southeast Asia. It looks at the power of cultural beliefs in shaping how people and their families will understand, manage and cope with different kinds of illnesses, the meaning of a diagnosis for them, how health choices are made, how illnesses can be cured and how people respond to different kinds of treatment. The course will also look at how cultural beliefs are also reflected in a society’s health care system. This course is for all those who wish to understand how socio-cultural factors affect physical health and how being sensitive to these factors can make an important difference in the well being of a person.