WEEK 1: CULTURAL IDENTITY
I always thought that the definition of culture was the way a group of people behave socially, which was influenced by their cultural background like race, religion, rituals and origin. Activity 1 challenged the way I thought about my own culture. I used to think my culture was typical Australian, but when asked to describe my own customs, I realised that I do not eat seafood or pork, like many Australians, and that this is because of a religious belief that my parents and extended family held. I now think that culture is different for every person, as they choose the customs that they find meaningful and are influenced by peers and family. Kaur Klair (2018) said that what we eat, wear and how we act is determined by our culture, but I also think those things are influenced by many factors as everyone’s culture is
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Understanding the social determinants of health are important because they can help the physician or nurse determine why the patient is ill and why they are vulnerably to the illness (Baum, cited in Keleher & MacDougall 2016, p.19-20).
The social determinants of health, like people living in low socioeconomic areas, can greatly affect people’s health and the health care they receive (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2016). A statistic, as stated by AIHW (2016), says that the overall death rate from 2009-2011, in Australia, would have been reduced by 13% if all Australian lived in the highest socioeconomic areas. Because of this statistic, I believe a person in a low socioeconomic area should have the same access to health care as someone who lives in a high socioeconomic area, as said by Kanizay