The Applied Approach
Anthropologists using the applied approach to medical anthropology are those that are currently out working in clinical settings and using their medical anthropology knowledge in practice. They typically focus on issues of global health, clinical studies, implications in government, and practices in industry. These anthropologists hold many jobs in and outside of research and can be found in many different places in the medical field. They may work in a hospital or physician setting, being advocates for government, or developing medicines in the pharmaceutical industry.
The applied approach is important to Alzheimer’s disease because it is important to use our knowledge of anthropology to help treat patients. The applied approach may be used in the care facilities, developing different pharmaceuticals, rallying for more government support, and many other jobs. The applied approach can also be used to further study the global influence of Alzheimer’s disease.
Globalization affects every portion of human life, health and illness being no exception. As globalization becomes more prevalent, Western notions of medicine tend to spread to parts of the world where they were not present before. In return, these other cultures affect our ideas of medicine and health as well. This is specifically interesting to Alzheimer’s disease when considering globalizations’ influence on stigmas associated with Alzheimer’s. In the past, Alzheimer’s disease was considered a mental illness, it was associated with senility. This was because Americans typically disrespected their elderly, viewing age as a disability. Now, we see a rising trend in Alzheimer’s disease moving away from this stigma. This is highly influenced by global cultural beliefs of elderly being the most valued citizens.
The applied approach is important to Alzheimer’s disease because it is important to use our knowledge of anthropology to help treat patients. The applied approach may be used in the care facilities, developing different pharmaceuticals, rallying for more government support, and many other jobs. The applied approach can also be used to further study the global influence of Alzheimer’s disease.
Globalization affects every portion of human life, health and illness being no exception. As globalization becomes more prevalent, Western notions of medicine tend to spread to parts of the world where they were not present before. In return, these other cultures affect our ideas of medicine and health as well. This is specifically interesting to Alzheimer’s disease when considering globalizations’ influence on stigmas associated with Alzheimer’s. In the past, Alzheimer’s disease was considered a mental illness, it was associated with senility. This was because Americans typically disrespected their elderly, viewing age as a disability. Now, we see a rising trend in Alzheimer’s disease moving away from this stigma. This is highly influenced by global cultural beliefs of elderly being the most valued citizens.
One anthropologist doing applied anthropology focusing on Alzheimer’s disease is Wayne State’s Dr. Sherylyn Briller. Dr. Briller specifically focuses on aging, life-course issues, disability, death and dying, and specifically Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. She has done exceptional research in the field and has applied her work in many different settings. As an applied anthropologist, Dr. Briller has used fieldwork to study different populations and their influences on aging. She specifically immersed herself in a population to look at ritual and its significance later in life to edit a special journal of Generations (Wayne State University Directory Listing). She uses narratives from her subjects to understand how they are feeling in their later years of life. She also has written many different ethnographies on her studies in order to help other anthropologists understand what she learned.
Photo Credit: Wayne State University Department of Anthropology
Photo Credit: Wayne State University Department of Anthropology
Dr. Briller helped co-write arguably one of the most important manuals to developing a dementia care facility. The four-volume series, Creating Successful Dementia Care Settings is used throughout the country to help develop care facilities to be more effective when treating patients. Dr. Briller’s anthropological insight helped develop methods to understand patient’s environments, maximize their abilities, minimize their disruptive behaviors, and enhance their identity and sense of home in the facility. This series is recommended by the Alzheimer’s Association for new care facilities to ensure they are created with the best policies and practices.
Dr. Briller and other medical anthropologists have an insight that typical doctors, government workers, and other professionals may not have. When treating Alzheimer’s disease patients, medical anthropologists could help understand the person’s background and culture to help maintain their personal identity. They could use the experiential approach to understand how they believe their illness influences them and what the experience of Alzheimer’s disease is like. Politicians and government workers may seek consultation from medical anthropologists to better understand the populations they are governing and the prevalence of different diseases. They may decide to disperse more funding towards certain diseases to better help their ethnic and cultural populations.
Work Cited:
Wayne State University Department of Anthropology. Directory Listing: Dr. Sherylyn Hope Briller. Accessed August 12, 2013.
http://clasweb.clas.wayne.edu/s-briller
Dr. Briller and other medical anthropologists have an insight that typical doctors, government workers, and other professionals may not have. When treating Alzheimer’s disease patients, medical anthropologists could help understand the person’s background and culture to help maintain their personal identity. They could use the experiential approach to understand how they believe their illness influences them and what the experience of Alzheimer’s disease is like. Politicians and government workers may seek consultation from medical anthropologists to better understand the populations they are governing and the prevalence of different diseases. They may decide to disperse more funding towards certain diseases to better help their ethnic and cultural populations.
Work Cited:
Wayne State University Department of Anthropology. Directory Listing: Dr. Sherylyn Hope Briller. Accessed August 12, 2013.
http://clasweb.clas.wayne.edu/s-briller