How do the two readings challenge your previous knowledge/thoughts on health and culture and the U.S. health system in light of other countries? How do these arguments fit into our ongoing discussions about globalization?
The first reading challenges my previous assumptions on health and culture by assuming that people’s views towards health is always individualistic and not affected by culture. Apparently, this assumption is incorrect. Although health communication is often distributed through individualistic perspective, health and culture are interrelated, and it is pivotal to consider culture as a part in crafting messages related to health (Airhihenbuwa & Obregon, 2000). In this case, these arguments fit into the discussions of globalization in a way that confirms how developed countries tend to use their own ideas in spreading messages and disregard the existing cultures in the places where they spread these messages, leading to ineffective communication.
In the meantime, the second reading shows the U.S. health system in light of other countries by showing how the spending of health care system in the U.S. is much higher than other countries despite the relatively variable
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First, a clip shows how the advertisements of psychotropic drugs are based on uncertainty, and this leads people to use these drugs regardless of their unproven efficacy compared to talk therapy (Ingersoll, 2013). Second, a video shows how the monopoly in the pharmaceutical industry keeps drug prices high while the government allows taxpayers’ money to be used on the R&D of these drugs. Third, a documentary shows how health problems are not treated equally. In this case, people in the least developed places, such as the ones who live in some places in Ecuador, may suffer from pollution caused by multinational companies like Chevron (“Crude”,