Health beliefs and behavior: the practicalities of "looking after yourself" in an Australian Aboriginal community
RIS ID
101103
Abstract
Recently, social determinants of health frameworks are receiving some criticism in that they do not engage with questions related to individual subjectivity and agency as they relate to health decision-making behavior. This article examines the different ways in which people living in a remote Arnhem Land community in the Northern Territory of Australia, take responsibility for their own health and the extent to which they are able to prevent illness. A number of related sub-questions are explored relating to how people perceive their health and their role in health care in their community, including their engagement with the health clinic, traditional medicines, and the influence of sorcery on ill health and sickness.
Publication Details
Senior, K. & Chenhall, R. (2013). Health beliefs and behavior: the practicalities of "looking after yourself" in an Australian Aboriginal community. Medical Anthropology Quarterly: international journal for the cultural and social analysis of health, 27 (2), 155-174.