How Culture Matters in Health Interventions

• In Event: 471 - Section on Medical Sociology Paper Session. Global and Transnational Health

Abstract

What role does culture play in influencing the planning and implementation of health interventions? Although a substantial literature examines how culture matters in health interventions in myriad individual settings, a lack of empirical data across cultural contexts has resulted in disparate and imprecise conceptualizations of the concept for scholars and practitioners alike. Drawing on 142 interviews with officials from three different non-governmental organizations working on health issues in multiple countries—Partners in Health, Oxfam America, and Sesame Workshop—we offer an expanded model of culture as cultural knowledge, cultural practice, and cultural change. We show how interventions that flexibly accommodate local cultural contexts are more likely to promote project goals than those that do not. We further link this conceptualization of culture to improvements in health outcomes across contexts. We suggest implications for scholars and practitioners interested in promoting health and health care in underserved contexts worldwide.

Author

• Tamara Kay, University of New Mexico