Socio-cultural factors responsible for the causation of some diseases in Bangladesh

Abstract

Disease is basically a socio-cultural construction. The role of socio-cultural factors as the aetiology of diseases has long been overlooked by the pure medical knowledge. Society is changing rapidly. So the knowledge of the aetiology of diseases has been diversified. People are now more conscious about their health and disease conditions as they were in the past. Now various diseases are related to lifestyle. Those who maintain satisfying lifestyle can easily avoid some diseases of modern society. Now the life expectancy of people has increased compared to the antiquity. Rapid development of medical science and technology has made it possible. According to sociologists and anthropologists, social class, economic position, gender, life events and cultural beliefs can be correlated with the incidence and distribution of certain diseases. In the developing world like Bangladesh, there is a clear relationship between health and income. In our country, much of the population already weakened by poor nutrition will suffer from infectious and other communicable diseases. These diseases are often transmitted with the help of polluted water supplies, poor sanitation and inadequate housing, all of which can be improved by an adequate income. The cultural factors are often difficult to quantify and are therefore less attractive to medical epidemiologists and statisticians. Nevertheless, despite this difficulty in quantifying cultural factors, there is sufficient evidence available to confirm their role in the development of diseases –even if this role is contributory, rather than directly causative. It should also be noted that in some cases, cultural factors may protect against ill-health. This study mainly focuses on the socio-cultural factors on the causation of some diseases in Bangladesh. It finds that there is a correlation between socio-cultural factors like lack of consciousness, diet, exercise, housing, environment, cultural practices, food intake, social relation, economic conditions etc. and causation of some diseases like diarrhoea, dysentery, tuberculosis, malaria, arsenicosis, STDs/STIs and HIV/AIDS. Kamrangir char area has been selected for the study. By interviewing and discussing with the people of kamrngir char, the study finds that there is a correlation between socio-cultural factors and disease causation.