Medicine and culture seem like two completely different things that would never be used in the same sentence. Medicine is complex science stuff that’s put into practice to help cure people’s sickness while culture, well that’s probably just as complex, but it’s got nothing to do with science; culture’s a range of beliefs and customs shared by a large group of people which can range from cultures surrounding Marvel superheroes to music to ethnicity. So obviously, it’s easy to treat the two subjects as completely different, unrelated topics. However, they are more closely related than we think. 

Culture completely affects people’s attitudes towards medicine, health and death. Health itself can be seen as a cultural construct. What we deem as being healthy depends entirely on the political and social environments that we are in. For about 400 years between the years 1500 and 1900, being larger in size was seen as being very healthy and fashionable as it was a mark of being an upper-class person who had sufficient food to eat. The idea of being slim was non-existent. However, today, teenagers are going to the gym daily and having a six pack is becoming ordinary as this is the new societal idea of being healthy. 

But can the two actually work together to benefit us all? Of course! Some may even argue that it’s already happening. Every winter, while you’re on a Harry Potter film marathon, the NHS’ advert on how it is dangerous to needlessly take antibiotics pops up during the break. Armaan Khan affirmed, “I see it every year. The clip itself is formatted differently but the message is always the same. The persistence of spreading this message, I believe, is very important for the general health of our society”. This is an active form of medicine working with the popular culture of watching television during the winter holidays to distribute vital information to people who may not otherwise be aware of the ramifications of such medication.

Furthermore, with Britain becoming increasingly culturally diverse, both healthcare professionals and the patients have more diverse backgrounds. This can be very beneficial for interactions between the two groups of people, especially if the patients are unable to understand English very well, as doctors who speak their language can be found to ensure that all of the necessary information is provided to the patient. 

Culture also has the potential of directly affecting medical practices. Different ethnic cultures have evolved different methods of treating illnesses, and over time, these have become an integral part of Western medicine. For example, aloe vera was advocated for in an Egyptian scroll known as the Ebers Papyrus. As a result, the integration of different cultures into medicine would allow it to progress further than it already has.