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EURASIAN EXPERIMENT JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH

(EEJSAR) ISSN: 2992-4146

©EEJSAR Publications Volume 6 Issue 1 2024

Page | 38
The Influence of Cultural Heritage on Health
Practices
Andrew Nyakundi

Department of Business Administration Kampala International University Uganda

ABSTRACT
Cultural heritage profoundly impacts health practices, shaping behaviors, beliefs, and approaches to well-
being across different societies. This paper examines the dynamic interplay between cultural traditions
and health-related behaviors, with a focus on how customs and beliefs inform practices around diet,
exercise, and healthcare seeking. Drawing on case studies from various global contexts, including
traditional healing systems such as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine, the paper demonstrates
how cultural values contribute to both health-promoting and health-compromising behaviors. The review
emphasizes the need for culturally sensitive healthcare interventions that respect local traditions while
promoting better health outcomes. Furthermore, the role of acculturation and its dual effects on health is
examined, with attention to how both new and old cultural practices can influence community health in
positive and negative ways.
Keywords: Cultural heritage, Health practices, Traditional medicine, Acculturation, Health behaviors.
INTRODUCTION
Cultural heritage, broadly defined, encompasses all inherited resources of a community that are valued for
their economic, social, and symbolic importance in daily life. The influence of such resources is, however,
broader still. Culture may shape the minds and practices of those who belong to a particular community.
Even today, a shared cultural heritage often sets the stage for the values and norms of human behavior.
As a case in point, walking around some of the historic cities in East and South Asia, one often finds the
local inhabitants practicing their morning exercises in parks, alongside ancient temples or public squares.
These forms of physical exercise are often part of long-standing traditions, which are believed to serve
socio-cultural as well as health functions. In a very literal sense then, such practices might be thought of
as those perpetuated through time and space, constitutive of cultural heritage [1, 2]. The objective of this
review is to examine this interrelation between culture and health across a variety of case studies. By
examining different forms of health practices, it is hoped that a more textured understanding might be
achieved of the ways and means by which cultures shape what people believe and, in turn, do when it
comes to matters of health. To this end, health practices are taken, expansively speaking, as including
behavioral norms and choices around food and exercise, as well as healthcare-seeking behaviors and
rituals. Behavioral norms have been defined as social prescriptions that encourage behaviors either
appropriate or inappropriate to the group. Grasping cultural dimensions of such practices may help in
understanding and modifying such health behaviors in ways that are sensitive to local meanings and
values that are important for ensuring the success of interventions [3, 4].
Understanding Cultural Heritage and Health Practices
Cultural heritage is made up of the traditions, customs, values, language, historical experiences, and social
functions of communities past and present that inform the cultures, identities, and ways of life that we as
people and communities practice and experience. Humans are socialized into cultural norms, beliefs,
traditions, and attitudes that are shaped by and have grown from cultural heritage. In our everyday lives,
these influences on our values and identities serve to teach us how to behave, how to interact with others,
and how to meet our physiological, psychological, sociological, and transcendent needs. Because cultural
heritage informs our identities and how we meet the full range of our needs, from basic physical and
safety needs to belonging needs and self-actualization needs, cultural heritage influences our health-

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related decisions, policies, and community standards [5, 6]. The health-related behaviors of every
community and individual are driven by deeply rooted cultural traditions. The model illustrates how
cultural influences inform the entire conceptualization of well-being, the assessment of physical, mental,
and social functioning, and the treatment of health problems when they occur. To accurately
accommodate and provide for individuals, communities, and societies, healthcare professionals, family
scientists, and healthcare policymakers need to take cultural influences into consideration. Cultural
identity might influence beliefs about the origins of illness, traditional approaches to treatment, the value Page | 39
or non-value of preventive practices, or which illnesses pose the greatest threat. Healthcare professionals
must be familiar with and capable of accommodating numerous cultural reactions to and behaviors around
health and well-being. Culturally sensitive health promotion and disease prevention programming must
be informed by an understanding of cultural practices and beliefs. Homogenizing a community will not
promote understanding and the adoption of helpful and healthier lifestyle choices [7, 8].
Cultural Beliefs and Health Behaviors
Every health behavior that an individual undertakes results from some belief. These beliefs may be based
upon tradition or personal experience. But any explanation of why an individual, family, or community
does what it does must explicitly or implicitly reference these cultural beliefs. To illustrate this, we can
examine a variety of cultural beliefs in order to understand how they dictate certain health practices. In
the West, we are told from birth that people who are ill should confine themselves to bed. We advocate
that individuals stay home until they are well, especially if they are ill with an infectious disease [9, 10].
The beliefs among many other cultural groups differ dramatically from this Western health behavior.
Such beliefs on health and illness may, on the one hand, promote health, while, on the other hand, lead to
health-compromising behaviors. Concerning the latter, the literature is full of studies that attest to poor
health behaviors of specific people, citing the culture of such people as the root of the problem. Groups
identified as not practicing good health behaviors are often found in lower socioeconomic strata. People of
lower socioeconomic status will also unknowingly transmit their culture of health attitudes to their
children. Stories, or material culture, transmitted from generation to generation encode our cultural
health attitudes. Specifically, our health attitudes reflect a complex tapestry of sacred/practical reasons as
to why a culture deems a particular practice as a good health behavior. Some clear examples of these
sacred vs. practical health behaviors and/or beliefs will be reviewed and documented. A culturally
competent physician had to be aware of these cultural beliefs so as to adopt accordingly. A fairly
straightforward example of one such belief process is provided by a group of American Indians in the
central USA who had a very strong reluctance to receiving preventive care. Their belief was based on a
training session at one time wherein an invasive procedure was used as an example of a preventive health
practice. Throughout the training session, the male participant experienced bitter anguish, which was
augmented with a significant amount of anxiety. Because the males enacted this procedure and were so
cooperative, they began to associate this anguish and anxiety with the action the presenter was trying to
demonstrate. Ultimately, the physician had to address the latter pain as an outcome of the described
invasive procedure and sought a less invasive way to perform the procedure to prevent such anguish and
pain. This patient showed a clear resistance to the preventive approach. It implies generational resistance
to providing preventive screening for the current elderly from this region. The belief is therefore
indicative of an individual, family, and community pattern that can be used to determine social,
environmental, epidemiological, and even genetic linkages for those data [11, 12].
Traditional Healing Practices
One of the defining aspects of cultural heritage is the variety of traditional medicines and practices that
have been developed by different world cultures across thousands of years. In some parts of the world,
such as Sudan and Papua New Guinea, the practice of herbal medicine is thought to date back 60,000
years or more. Other traditional medicine systems, such as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine,
boast written histories that date back over 3,000 years. Other forms of traditional medicine commonly
practiced around the world include acupuncture, Kampo, Koryo hand therapy, Qi Gong therapy, shiatsu,
and traditional European medicine. Despite having these long histories, traditional practices continue to
hold relevance to people all around the world, frequently making meaningful contributions to health care
in a modern health context [13, 14]. While the practices used differ between cultures and societies,
traditional health systems worldwide consequently also encompass an array of traditional healers.
Medicine women, diviners, midwives, bone setters, spiritual healers, doctors, and many others exist in
different cultures all over the world, often with unique and specifically defined roles. Traditional healers

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited
https://www.eejournals.org Open Access
are primarily responsible for the health of their communities, with their specific training allowing them to
fill roles from delivering babies to spiritual healing and treating minor cuts and broken bones. In some
cases, they are also relied upon to treat illnesses, as traditional healers are often trusted more than their
biomedical counterparts. As a result, a large percentage of a given population's health care concerns are
generally met through traditional medical practices. Ideally, traditional healers should interface with
other health practitioners to reach the widest client base with the most effective health care possible.
With their incredible longevity and success, traditional practices are clearly a vital aspect of human Page | 40
cultural heritage and are likely to remain important into the future. Thus, the ideal scenario for the future
of global health care would see the strengths and limitations of both paradigms recognized alongside a
coming together of collaborative minds: informal care, holistic, and biomedical practitioners working
alongside each other in order to provide the most comprehensive health care. Special consideration should
be given to policies put in place if neurologists or other formal care practitioners do not accept or refuse
integration. With increasing globalization and significant cultural change, the preservation of these
invaluable practices in the future is currently a major issue [15, 16].
Impact of Acculturation on Health Practices
The process by which cultural practices are learned or transmitted is important and affects how
individuals make observations about the world, form natural understandings, and generate scientific
ideas. This chapter examines how cultural heritage can influence undergraduates' open choice in settling
upon health-related topics for individual reflective reviews in university units of study. It then shows both
how an understanding of cultural health practices contributes to the framing of illness and how
communities share strategies to maintain health. People also draw on these cultural experiences and
scientific knowledge to engage in open inquiry-based activities and reflect on social and ethical
responsibilities regarding science in personal and family health decisions [17, 18]. Health is a general
word and does not always imply the absence of disease. Possible cultural differences in, and consequences
of, a person's definitions of and beliefs about illness are not addressed. American heritage focuses more on
curing than preventing illness, whereas wholism focuses on creating a healthy environment within which
healing can naturally occur. In addition, patient safety and guidelines use Western disease and prevention
concepts and may not always be appropriate for managing chronic illness. All these health concepts are
based on the values that people learn from their families and communities. Acculturation is the process by
which people adopt new cultural beliefs, values, and practices as they move from one culture into a new
culture. Acculturation can also involve behavioral changes, including adopting new diets and changing
other health practices such as personal hygiene and water purification. Changes associated with
acculturation can have both good and bad health outcomes. For example, immigrants may face new
barriers to accessing health care but may also have assistance in learning about healthy pregnancies.
What health interventions and medicines are likely to work with a community are often a combination of
the old and new. Acculturation is a two-way process, and members of the 'new' culture are also affected. It
is important to remember that acculturation is happening to people, and they cope successfully by
drawing on existing support networks. Not all people undergoing acculturation reach this level of success
in meeting other cultural challenges, such as maintaining a proper diet and exercise, particularly when the
traditional practices are discouraged in the new environment. Acculturation is long-term, and more
research is needed to determine long-term effects on health [19, 20].
CONCLUSION
Cultural heritage plays an important role in shaping health practices and behaviors. Understanding these
cultural influences is essential for developing effective health interventions that respect local traditions
and values. While some cultural practices promote well-being, others may lead to health-compromising
behaviors. Therefore, healthcare systems and professionals must embrace cultural competence,
integrating traditional practices with modern healthcare to improve overall health outcomes.
Additionally, acculturation introduces complexities that require further research to address the long-term
impacts on community health. Moving forward, a collaborative approach that honors both traditional and
modern medical systems may offer the best path for promoting global health.
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This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
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provided the original work is properly cited
https://www.eejournals.org Open Access

CITE AS: Andrew Nyakundi. (2024). The Influence of Cultural

Heritage on Health Practices. EURASIAN EXPERIMENT JOURNAL
OF SCIENTIFIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH, 6(1):38-42
Page | 42

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited