How Maunakea Teaches Us to Practice Medicine

This study clearly highlights the need for Western-trained doctors to begin acknowledging and respecting each Indigenous community’s traditional knowledge and beliefs. Not working harmoniously with cultural traditions and what patients are comfortable with will erode trust and limit the health outcomes of patients. Dr. Kim Tallbear (Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate), a genomics researcher and Associate Professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, has helped build a framework to model how Indigenous thought and concepts from Western science can come together. First, we must find ways in healthcare to “resist colonial science” (science that emerged from the exploitation of colonized people). Second, we need to understand how to “collaborate in good science”. One example of resisting colonial medicine can be done in reevaluating how one’s wellness is addressed. Instead of emphasizing physical health, we can use a more holistic approach to assess health status. Above is an example of a Native Model of Wellness from a study done in 2009 to determine the Native American perspective on wellness. Physical, cognitive, emotional, and environmental factors of wellness are all considered when examining one’s wellness. Although this model may vary from tribe to tribe, it is one example of a non-Western perspective that doctors can adapt into their approach to be more fitting for specific patient populations. Next, Tallbear’s model highlights the impor...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Medical Practice Patients Arc Health Brooke Warren Hawaii Kana Oiwi Maunakea Phuoc Le traditional knowledge traditional medicine western medicine Source Type: blogs