Anthropological research into what may be termed indigenous health beliefs and practices often adopts an holistic approach, taking account of the wider cosmological belief system that shapes health beliefs, the environment, eco-system and socio-political context in which it functions. Medical anthropology has shown that, in a similar fashion, biomedicine is also embedded in wider social, political, economic and cultural contexts. In interpreting biomedical healthcare provision, these contextual features must be considered. Yet in relation to providing healthcare in unstable and developing contexts, they rarely are.
Great emphasis has been placed on understanding the gaps between the provision and uptake of services and the consequential ‘cultural factors’ that inhibit effective delivery. What is lacking from such accounts is commitment to a rigorous and critical analysis of the healthcare system itself. With specific emphasis on understanding patient perspectives and regional variance, we can move away from health statistics and a purely clinical encounter towards a more nuanced understanding of what health and (biomedical) healthcare may mean and represent in a wider non-medical perspective.
Anthrologica is developing an effective anthropology of healthcare, both theoretically and methodologically. We aim to draw upon micro-analyses of specific instances of sickness and healing to demonstrate the organisation, provision and utilisation of health and medicine in specific contexts which in turn contribute to a macro-analysis of well-being and healthcare.