Anthropological sense

There are many ways to define culture, each of which has a place and purpose. Culture can be thought of in the “high culture” sense, which might include the artistic, literary, and musical achievements of culture. It can be thought of in the anthropological sense, that culture is a set of beliefs, practices, and values to which a group of people adheres and that characterize them. It can also be thought of as an ever-evolving pattern of learned behavior, language, and beliefs shared among a group of people. As you can see, there are different ways to talk about culture, and each way is more or less useful within specific contexts.  In the context of health behavior, it may be most helpful to think of culture as an evolving landscape of learned behavior and socialization. As with all facets of life, different cultural groups may have different views about health and health behavior, which are a part of that evolving landscape of learned behavior and beliefs. Knowing cultural attitudes can help you make informed planning and implementation decisions about health behavior change programs.

• choose a particular cultural, ethnic, or racial group and research this group’s views toward the health behavior issue you selected. Consider how and why these views might pose challenges to implementing behavior change programs for this issue. Use this week’s Learning Resources as a starting point for your thinking and research.

By Day 4

Identify and briefly describe the health behavior issue and cultural, ethnic, or racial group you selected. Provide a summary of your findings on the group’s views toward the behavior. Then explain why these attitudes might pose challenges to implementing behavior change programs for this issue within the group. Be specific and support your response with references to the Learning Resources.

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