How Do You Build a "culture of Health"? A Critical Analysis of Challenges and Opportunities from Medical Anthropology

Katherine A. Mason, Sarah S. Willen, Seth M. Holmes, Denise A. Herd, Mark Nichter, Heide Castañeda, Helena Hansen

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Culture of Health Action Framework aims to "make health a shared value"and improve population health equity through widespread culture change. The authors draw upon their expertise as anthropologists to identify 3 challenges that they believe must be addressed in order to effectively achieve the health equity and population health improvement goals of the Culture of Health initiative: clarifying and demystifying the concept of "culture,"contextualizing "community"within networks of power and inequality, and confronting the crises of trust and solidarity in the contemporary United States. The authors suggest that those who seek to build a "Culture of Health"refine their understanding of how "culture"is experienced, advocate for policies and practices that break down unhealthy consolidations of power, and innovate solutions to building consensus in a divided nation.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)476-481
    Number of pages6
    JournalPopulation Health Management
    Volume23
    Issue number6
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Dec 2020

    Keywords

    • anthropology
    • culture of health
    • health equity

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Leadership and Management
    • Health Policy
    • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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