Description
Health Care in Maya Guatemala examines medical systems and institutions in three K'iche' Maya communities to reveal the conflicts between indigenous medical care and the Guatemalan biomedical system. The editors and contributors show how people in this rapidly modernizing society think about traditional practices - and reveal that health conditions in traditional communities deteriorate over time as long-standing medical practices erode in the face of Western encroachment.
The contributors first consider cultural, institutional, and behavioral aspects of health care in Guatemala. Then they look closely at the nature and treatment of specific health issues, such as dentistry and mental health - especially depression. Finally they provide new insight on midwifery, nutrition, ethnomedicine, and other topics.
As a whole, the volume proposes steps toward a health care system more accessible to Mayas, incorporating K'iche' concepts with Western thought. Representing trends seen throughout the world, it shows the necessity of cultural understanding if poor people are to have access to medicine that combines the best of both local tradition and international biomedicine. Although Western medicine continues to ignore the importance of local culture in its attempt to be ""scientific,"" this book makes a strong argument for giving tradition its due.
About the Author
Walter Randolph Adams is an independent scholar living in Guatemala and former Research Professor at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University.|John P. Hawkins is Professor of Anthropology at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
Book Information
ISBN 9780806138596
Author Walter Randolph Adams
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint University of Oklahoma Press
Publisher University of Oklahoma Press
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 15mm
