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PUERTO RICAN TRADITIONAL FOLK MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE AND PATIENT SATISFACTION IN A PUERTO RICAN CLINICAL SETTING

Description
Over the past three decades, medical anthropology research, published within both public health and anthropological journals, demonstrates both the prevalence of traditional folk medicine in Latino populations in the United States and the potential difficulty of negotiating these beliefs and practices with clinical, western biomedicine. I bring attention to what…

Over the past three decades, medical anthropology research, published within both public health and anthropological journals, demonstrates both the prevalence of traditional folk medicine in Latino populations in the United States and the potential difficulty of negotiating these beliefs and practices with clinical, western biomedicine. I bring attention to what might be a narrative of divergent values that occurs in Latino communities in the United States. A well-documented source (Pachter, 1994) of this clash is the culturally pervasive use of folk medicine in Latino layperson populations seeking biomedical care in the Unites States (U.S.). Numerous studies (Padilla, 2001; Koss 1972) suggest that a significant portion of Latinos in the continental United States call upon folk knowledge to diagnose, reinterpret, and treat illness. The Puerto Rican population seems to be no exception, though few studies are specific to native-born Puerto Ricans living in Puerto Rico, where the issue of access to quality public health care becomes increasingly problematic. In this honors undergraduate thesis project, I conduct a review of the literature that bridges anthropology and public health research and proceed to describe a study I conducted on Culebra Island, Puerto Rico in May of 2015. The study aims to determine whether patient satisfaction can be linked to being treated by a physician hailing from a similar cultural background, or if an irredeemable disparity between patient and provider present a roadblock to health outcomes. I found that the Puerto Rican physicians are receptive to folk illness (symptoms) and consider folk therapy as part of the treatment regimen. The physicians make patients feel understood, which might improve treatment adherence and thus health outcomes. Still, respondents demonstrated that there is high patient trust in the biomedical model by emphasizing the use of conventional medications in tandem with the folk therapy. Nevertheless, the health care provider's disposition in regards to folk knowledge and modalities are important but does not present a roadblock to optimal care and health outcomes as much as access, available services or clinic resources.
ContributorsVanasse-Torres, Elena Georgina (Author) / Maupin, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Maienschein, Jane (Thesis director) / Martínez, Airín (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
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Postprandial Glucose Responses to a High Glycemic Meal with Raw or Cooked Vegetables

Description
Early humans adapted to eating cooked food with increased energy density and absorption of macronutrients. However, in modern times many suffer from diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes which can result from too much energy being absorbed from food. This study measures glucose responses to a high glycemic meal…

Early humans adapted to eating cooked food with increased energy density and absorption of macronutrients. However, in modern times many suffer from diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes which can result from too much energy being absorbed from food. This study measures glucose responses to a high glycemic meal with a side dish of raw or cooked vegetables. There was a slight trend for raw vegetables to have decreased postprandial blood glucose responses when compared to cooked vegetables.
ContributorsWilkins, Christine Marie (Author) / Johnston, Carol (Thesis director) / Jacobs, Mark (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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A critical literature review and case study of the 'draw and write' research technique

Description
The ‘draw and write’ research technique was developed as a bottom-up approach to gaining access to children’s ideas, experiences, and views of the world around them in areas such as health, education, and social issues. While the technique may allow children to participate in research in a way that is…

The ‘draw and write’ research technique was developed as a bottom-up approach to gaining access to children’s ideas, experiences, and views of the world around them in areas such as health, education, and social issues. While the technique may allow children to participate in research in a way that is less restrictive than other techniques, many critique the method for its adverse ethical concerns, validity, and issues of interpretation and analysis. This article reviews the ‘draw and write’ research technique and its common critiques as well as offers a case study of the ‘draw and write’ technique, performed with children in Acatenango, Guatemala, in order to validate the accuracy of the ‘draw and write’ technique in depicting specific quantitative results.
ContributorsJones, Danielle Lynn (Author) / Maupin, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Hackman, Joe (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12