Keywords
culture
pharmacodynamics
How to Cite
Abstract
Cultures define who we are, how we are brought up, how we describe distress and how we seek help as well as the sources of help we choose. Medicine as a discipline has its cultural values which at times may conflict with broader cultural values. Understanding the culture of medicine may help the patient engage better with physicians and may make the right therapeutic intervention readily acceptable.
Cultures encourage individuals, their carers and families to accept what is acceptable in treatment at all levels. Cultures can influence whether individuals see tablets, capsules, injections, or syrups as more potent as well as readily acceptable. In addition, cultural factors embedded in individuals and their families play a major role in the therapeutic alliance, even though often these are ignored.
Cultural variations in treatment responses have been studied, but not widely, while the role and type of medication have not been explored at length. In this essay, we explore the role of placebos and their acceptance for treatment, as well as the roles the placebo can play and the cultural understanding of various factors.
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