Little Matthew, Humphries Sally, Patel Kirit, Dewey Cate
a Department of Population Medicine , University of Guelph , Guelph , Ontario , Canada.
b Department of Sociology and Anthropology , University of Guelph , Ontario , Canada.
Med Anthropol. 2017 Feb-Mar;36(2):96-110. doi: 10.1080/01459740.2016.1231676. Epub 2016 Sep 20.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is an escalating public health problem in India, associated with genetic susceptibility, dietary shift, and rapid lifestyle changes. Historically a disease of the urban elite, quantitative studies have recently confirmed rising prevalence rates among marginalized populations in rural India. To analyze the role of cultural and sociopolitical factors in diabetes onset and management, we employed in-depth interviews and focus groups within a rural community of Tamil Nadu. The objectives of the study were to understand sources and extent of health knowledge, diabetes explanatory models, and the impact of illness on individual, social, and familial roles. Several cultural, socioeconomic, and political factors appear to contribute to diabetes in rural regions of India, highlighting the need to address structural inequities and empower individuals to pursue health and well-being on their own terms.
2型糖尿病在印度是一个日益严重的公共卫生问题,与遗传易感性、饮食转变和快速的生活方式变化有关。从历史上看,这是一种城市精英阶层的疾病,但最近的定量研究证实,印度农村边缘化人群中的患病率正在上升。为了分析文化和社会政治因素在糖尿病发病和管理中的作用,我们在泰米尔纳德邦的一个农村社区进行了深入访谈和焦点小组讨论。该研究的目的是了解健康知识的来源和程度、糖尿病的解释模型,以及疾病对个人、社会和家庭角色的影响。在印度农村地区,一些文化、社会经济和政治因素似乎都对糖尿病的发生起到了作用,这凸显了应对结构性不平等并使个人能够按照自己的方式追求健康和幸福的必要性。