Beyond patient culture: filtering cultural presentations of depression through structural terms

© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group There is growing global consensus for researchers to look beyond patient culture to gain a more nuanced understanding of the ways in which wider socio-structural forces influence health outcomes. In line with these critiques, this pa...

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Main Authors: Brijnath, Bianca, Antoniades, J.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Routledge 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/56214
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author Brijnath, Bianca
Antoniades, J.
author_facet Brijnath, Bianca
Antoniades, J.
author_sort Brijnath, Bianca
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group There is growing global consensus for researchers to look beyond patient culture to gain a more nuanced understanding of the ways in which wider socio-structural forces influence health outcomes. In line with these critiques, this paper examines culturally diverse patients’ views about the symptoms, aetiology, and experiences of their depression, and considers how socio-structural forces are implicated in the illness experience. Analysing the transcripts of interviews with 28 Indian-Australians and 30 Anglo-Australians with depression, our results reveal cultural differences between Indian- and Anglo-Australians regarding the chronicity, perceived severity, and aetiology of their depression. Our results also show how these cultural differences are related to socio-structural forces such as time, money, and migration. We conclude by arguing that the current medicalised approach to treating depression needs to shift to a more empathetic problem-solving one; such a change would prompt greater critical consideration of the socio-structural forces that impact people’s mental health and not just focus on individuals’ culture and pathologies.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-562142017-09-13T16:11:24Z Beyond patient culture: filtering cultural presentations of depression through structural terms Brijnath, Bianca Antoniades, J. © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group There is growing global consensus for researchers to look beyond patient culture to gain a more nuanced understanding of the ways in which wider socio-structural forces influence health outcomes. In line with these critiques, this paper examines culturally diverse patients’ views about the symptoms, aetiology, and experiences of their depression, and considers how socio-structural forces are implicated in the illness experience. Analysing the transcripts of interviews with 28 Indian-Australians and 30 Anglo-Australians with depression, our results reveal cultural differences between Indian- and Anglo-Australians regarding the chronicity, perceived severity, and aetiology of their depression. Our results also show how these cultural differences are related to socio-structural forces such as time, money, and migration. We conclude by arguing that the current medicalised approach to treating depression needs to shift to a more empathetic problem-solving one; such a change would prompt greater critical consideration of the socio-structural forces that impact people’s mental health and not just focus on individuals’ culture and pathologies. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/56214 10.1080/09581596.2017.1344771 Routledge restricted
spellingShingle Brijnath, Bianca
Antoniades, J.
Beyond patient culture: filtering cultural presentations of depression through structural terms
title Beyond patient culture: filtering cultural presentations of depression through structural terms
title_full Beyond patient culture: filtering cultural presentations of depression through structural terms
title_fullStr Beyond patient culture: filtering cultural presentations of depression through structural terms
title_full_unstemmed Beyond patient culture: filtering cultural presentations of depression through structural terms
title_short Beyond patient culture: filtering cultural presentations of depression through structural terms
title_sort beyond patient culture: filtering cultural presentations of depression through structural terms
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/56214