Mexican American Cultural Analysis

Mexican American Cultural Approaches to Health
Mexican American, or Latino, traditional views on health and healing practices are influenced by several other cultures that they have historically had some kind of contact with, such as the Spanish colonizers, indigenous Indian populations, and Western medical practitioners. This varied background accounts for their holistic healing methods and their belief that good health stems from internal balance, a clear conscience, and a strong spiritual relationship with God. The underlying theme in traditional Mexican American health is that there needs to be a balance between the body and Earth's elements. Equilibrium of each element--fire, water, air, and land--leads to an overall healthy state.
In general, there are three basic values that crucially exists within most Mexican American relationships—personalismo, respeto, and dignidad. (Molina, 1994) Personalismo is the trust and rapport that is established with others. Latin Americans respond better to warm, friendly interactions, and prefer personal relationships to professional ones. Therefore, the best ways to earn trust is for a provider to show interest in the patient’s personal life, exercise empathy, and avoid formal interactions. It is also important for a provider to show respeto (respect) by dressing according to their profession and addressing the patient with the formal greeting “usted”. This makes the patient feel as through they are taken seriously and cared for at the same time. A Latino patient tends to want a provider to embrace and exemplify their role as a professional; they simply prefer more intimate interactions. And although they appreciate empathy, they expect a blatant regard for their digidad (dignity); as with many individuals, Latinos place an emphasis on being treated as equals and human beings. Furthermore, Mexican Americans value family and thrive off their interdependent relationships with them. (Molina, 1994) In fact, most traditional Latinos rely more on their relatives for health advice than healthcare providers; as a result, it is
Additionally, poor health is culturally associated with imbalances within the body's natural states that lead to problems. According to traditional beliefs, poor health can be attributed to one or more of the following: (1) Psychological State, (2) Environment and Natural Causes, or (3) Supernatural beings. (Molina, 1994) The psychological state includes any mental state that may be disrupting one's peace of mind, including worry, anger, envy, or stress, all of which can lead to the dangerous state of susto (“fright”), or soul loss. Natural causes fall under environmental elements, such as dust, pollution, or germs--all of the things that Western medicine believes to be the only causes of illness. Finally, supernatural beings include malevolent spirits, witchcraft, or "mal de ojo", the bad eye, any of which can cause disease or illness. Because Mexican American views on health differ from those of mainstream US medicine, there are several "folk illnesses" that exist within the culture that have no diagnosis within Western medicine, and are, therefore, remedied by traditional methods. Many of these illnesses fall under the idea of their imbalance theory. For example, an imbalance or conflict within social relationships opens one's spirit up to "mal de ojo"; symptoms include fever, headache, and sleeplessness. The