Essay Sample on Greek Health Beliefs

Introduction

Ancient Greeks linked good health to human behavior as well as social and physical environments. They believed that people should practice life with minimum disturbances such as physical and nutritional conditions to maintain good health (Chourdakis et al., 2010). When receiving treatment, male patients prefer been served by male doctors while female patients prefer female doctors. The patients prefer consulting known health providers as they value personal relationships. They also prefer approaching physicians who speak in Greece and understand their culture as other languages may cause communication barrier hence dissatisfaction to the patient. One of the healing therapies practiced by the Greek is chiropractic which focuses on the spinal column and is done through physiotherapy. Additionally, when a person has a terminal illness, Greeks avoid informing the person as it may make the patient lose hope on fears that one may die soon (Cartwright, 2018).

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Greek Values and Practices

The Greeks follow the Greek Orthodox Church hence practice religious rituals in their day to day lives (Fouka et al., 2012). They experience a sense of connectedness with the divine and often rely on their religious faith to promote healing among the sick. They also pay honor to religious symbols such as those of Jesus while praying to declare healing. On the other hand, they use holy water and blessed oil to bless their lives and pray against any health issues they may be having or health issues affecting their loved ones (Anyfantakis et al., 2015). They celebrate Saints annually and have prayers linked to different saints. It is common to find them praying Saints' prayers to offer their healing petitions to God.

Another practice among the Greeks is the reliance on natural medicine to treat illnesses. They prefer the use of herbs as natural medicine to pharmaceutical drugs. They believe that they are healthier as they are natural hence have minimal side effects on their bodies (Anagnostopoulos et al., 2012). They incorporate healthy spices and herbs in their meals and drinks to act as an alternative and safe medication to the treatment they receive in hospitals. At home, many families ensure that they feed healthily and take natural spices and herbs in their foods and drinks as a way of safeguarding themselves from different illnesses. The patients also prefer been involved or engaging their families in the decision making process of the medication that one will take.

During communication, Greeks are more open to people they know compared to strangers. On the other hand, they are sensitive on how they talk and often avoid a negative issue straightforward to avoid disappointing the other party (Kaliampos & Roussi, 2017). They embrace physical contact as they hug and touch each other on the back to emphasize their points. Additionally, they are expressive in their body language hence often use hand gestures and facial expressions when communicating. They pay attention to verbal and non-verbal cues during communication hence require people to talk to them using gestures, facials as well as elaborating information clearly. The young people are supposed to show respect to the elderly by ensuring they maintain eye contact and addressing them in their titles.

The Greeks highly respect and celebrate the elderly. They treat them with care and ensure that they provide all necessities they require. On the other hand, grandparents offer guidance to the young people and babysit their grandchildren to allow their parents to work comfortably (Svensson-Dianellou, Smith & Mestheneos, 2010). The elderly are accustomed to herbal medication, eating organic foods as well as practices such as cupping to heal different medical conditions. Many of them also use home remedies to treat illnesses such as using methylated spirit to heal sore arms and legs.

Comparative Analysis of Chinese and the Greek

Based on the cultural cues of the Chinese, there are some similarities and differences between the health beliefs, practices and values in these cultural groups.

Similarities

Both the Chinese and Greeks assist patient to feel comfortable. The Greek ensure that they are always beside the patient whenever he or she needs assistance while the Chinese ensure patients have a smooth stay at the healthcare centers. Both cultural groups use both natural and western medication to improve their health conditions (University of Washington Medical Center, 2007). However, they both believe that natural medicine is better than western medication due to its natural state hence often prefer using natural medication for their illness before trying out western medicine. On the other hand, they both value foods, herbs and spices as preventive medication. They incorporate them into their daily meals to ensure they keep their bodies healthy. Similar to the Greeks, the Chinese value family hence have less focus on individual feelings (University of Washington Medical Center, 2007). The family members or close people to the patients highly influence their decision making during treatment. Additionally, both cultural groups shield bad news from patients as they believe that informing the patient about an issue in their health condition may worsen their health.

Differences

Unlike the Greeks who prefer eye contact when communicating, the Chinese avoid it. Greeks are open and prefer clear conversations with people around them as long as they know them. Greeks often take western medicine as advised by healthcare providers despite preferring natural medicine to western medicine. However, Chinese are more sceptical about western medicine, believe that it is too strong, and at times fail to complete their dose even when one is still sick (University of Washington Medical Center, 2007).

Conclusion

It is clear that the Greeks and Chinese have close health beliefs, values, and practices. However, there are some instances they differ. Healthcare practitioners should, therefore, ensure that they understand each patient's health beliefs, practices and values as patients from different cultural backgrounds differ in their health perceptions hence require different forms of caring for them.

References

Anagnostopoulos, F., Dimitrakaki, C., Fitzsimmons, D., Potamianos, G., Niakas, D., & Tountas, Y. (2012). Health beliefs and illness perceptions as related to mammography uptake in randomly selected women in Greece. Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings, 19(2), 147-164.

Anyfantakis, D., Symvoulakis, E. K., Linardakis, M., Shea, S., Panagiotakos, D., & Lionis, C. (2015). Effect of religiosity/spirituality and sense of coherence on depression within a rural population in Greece: the Spili III project. BMC psychiatry, 15(1), 173.

Cartwright, M. (2018, April 11). Ancient Greek Medicine. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Medicine/

Chourdakis, M., Tzellos, T., Papazisis, G., Toulis, K., & Kouvelas, D. (2010). Eating habits, health attitudes and obesity indices among medical students in northern Greece. Appetite, 55(3), 722-725.

Fouka, G., Plakas, S., Taket, A., Boudioni, M., & Dandoulakis, M. (2012). Healthrelated religious rituals of the Greek Orthodox C hurch: their uptake and meanings. Journal of nursing management, 20(8), 1058-1068.

Kaliampos, A., & Roussi, P. (2017). Religious beliefs, coping, and psychological well-being among Greek cancer patients. Journal of health psychology, 22(6), 754-764.

Kleisiaris, C. F., Sfakianakis, C., & Papathanasiou, I. V. (2014). Health care practices in ancient Greece: The Hippocratic ideal. Journal of medical ethics and history of medicine, 7.

Svensson-Dianellou, A., Smith, P. K., & Mestheneos, E. (2010). Family help by Greek grandparents. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 8(3), 249-263.

University of Washington Medical Center. (2007). Communicating with Your Chinese Patient. 1-2. Retrieved from https://depts.washington.edu/pfes/PDFs/ChineseCultureClue.pdf.