Health Institutions

Understanding Culture, Society and Politics

and Beliefs
REVIEW
It is the belief in a
supernatural power that
organizes and animates the
material universe.
ANIMISM
REVIEW
In this category of religion,
followers here believe in the
existence of multiple deities
or god.
POLYTHEISM
REVIEW
It is the religion that assert
the existence of single
divine being.
POLYTHEISM
 HEALTH
A state of complete physical,
mental and social well-being, not
merely the absence of infirmity.
–World Health
Organization
01

02

03
Traditional Medicine
Filipino folk medicine which
believes that healing comes from
the prowess of God which are
practiced through prayers and
rituals.
Western Medicine
Involves scientific process
which relies more on
industrially-produced
medications.
Alternative Medicine
This type of healing are not
recognized by the western
medicine but are practiced by
medical practitioners or doctors.
Instructions:
A. Each group will be given one brown envelope with the
needed materials inside of it.
B. Each group will be asked to post related pictures according
to their topic which can be found inside the envelope.
C. You will be only given a minute to finish the task.
D. Corresponding points will be given depending on the correct
answers and the time the task was finished.
 BUYAG/USOG
Usog/buyag is one of the most known
culture-bound syndrome here in the
Philippines. Buyag mostly are attributed to
babies while usog may be attributed to both
young and adult. Usog is a Filipino belief
regarding the discomfort brought about by a
stranger or visitor who is thought to have an
evil eye (masamang mata) or who brings an
evil wind (masamang hangin) or a hex.
Camilla is a 30-year-old female
who had just delivered her first
child via a caesarian section.
Fourteen days post-partum,
Camilla complained of
uncontrollable emotions, headache,
body pain, and sensitivity to light.
One of her relative said that, “Amo
na nga gabatyag ka sina kay
tungod bag-o ka bata. Dapat
mapabu-ok ikaw.”
 BUGHAT
Bughat/binat is the term used to refer to
ailments a mother experiences after
giving birth or after suffering from
abortion or miscarriage if she did not
follow certain rituals after childbirth. So to
avoid this kind of ailment according to
elders, new mom should not take a bath
after giving birth for several days, have a
complete rest, and perform bu-ok.
 PASMA
Pasma is roughly defined as an
“exposure illness” which occurs when a
condition considered to be “hot” is
attacked by a “cold” element and vice
versa (Tan 2008). So when you came
from an activity where in you get sweat,
too much heat or cold, you must avoid
getting wet by water as it well cause
you pasma.
Emma is a 25-year-old female who was
seen at the local health clinic due to flu-
like symptoms. During examination, she
was noted to have crab-like arms and
legs and her family history revealed that
both her parents and a maternal aunt
also have the same condition. No prior
consultations were pursued due to their
family’s belief that her maternal
grandmother had taken crabs while
pregnant, hence giving birth to children
with crab-like limbs.
 LIHI
Lihi is an important cultural bound syndrome
and a belief among Filipinos that explain a
number of physical deformities. As
discussed, lihi refers to maternal cravings and
this usually occurs during the first trimester
of pregnancy (Jocano 1973). This is similar
with antojos, a Mexican belief during
pregnancy wherein an infant may be born
with some characteristics based on the object
of maternal cravings (Barragan et al. 2011).
 YANGGAW
Yanggaw or inaswang is an ilonggo
term which means “infection” or
“affliction”. This term is as sociated
when someones get stricken by a
sickness that no doctor (according to
the family) could identify and there is
a deliberate transformation of a
human into a beastly killer.
 HIWIT
Hiwit or barang is an illness attribute to sorcery
performed by manug-hiwit or mambabarang. The
afflictions is characterized by the presence of a
typical scarring, sugat-sugat, variedly colored from
yellow to red to violet and black, usually
generalized, but especially affecting the face and
arms. It also manifest protracted intestinal disease,
resistant to the ministrations of traditional and
alternative healers, and the cause finally revealing
itself when the patient dies and flying insects are
released from the body cavities or dermal breaks.
 BETSIN
Filipinos believed is the illness
where the patient suffers from
headaches, heart palpitations,
skin flushing, stomach aches and
vomiting. It is believed that it can
be get through food and air and
only manug-betsin can cure this.
 BALDA/BALI
Balda is a belief where in if a
person especially a child suffers
fever, cough and may have
experienced out of balance or fall
from something prior to his fever,
so he may have “balda” and
“hilot “can be the treatment.
G1: POSTER-SLOGAN
Show how traditional healing can help the illness suffered by a person.
G2: NEWSCASTING
There is an epidemic disease in a society. Convince the viewers that the
way to heal the illness is through the scientific or western way of healing.
G3: SONG
Compose a song that would represent the diffent culture bound syndrome
(e.g. usog, bughat, balda).
G4: ROLE PLAYING
Show how family members would differ in their beliefs in dealing with
illness/sickness. (Traditional vs. Western vs. Alternative Way of Healing)
Directions
A.Each group will be given 10 minutes to prepare and 5
minutes to make a depiction.
B. The grade will be based on the accuracy of the depiction
of possible impacts given on your performance task.
C.Each group should submit the list of roles to the teacher.
This will be used as a guide for grading.
Criteria
 PRESENTATION – 30%
 DELIVERY – 20%
 CREATIVITY – 20%
 CONTENT – 20%
 RELEVANCE- 10%
TOTAL: 100%
Q&A
As a student how can you say that
each system of healing is important
in our daily life? How does the
different beliefs about health affects
the patterns of behaviour of the
Filipinos?
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1.It refers to the state of complete
physical, mental and social well-
being, not merely the absence of
infirmity.
a.Religion c. Education
b.Health d. Economics
MULTIPLE CHOICE
2. Health as an institution has three
systems or ways of healing. Which
does not belong to the group?
a.Alternative Medicine
b.Western Medicine
c. Institutionalized Medicine
d.Traditional Medicine
MULTIPLE CHOICE
3. Mary just gave birth to quintuplets. Three
months after giving birth, she suffered from
different illness like headache, chills at night
and having sensitivity to light. What kind of
illness according to our culture does Mary
have?
a. buyag c. balda
b. yanggaw d. bughat
MULTIPLE CHOICE
4. Health actors on traditional medicine
undergo years of training and studies in
order for them to perform and use the
western way of healing. Which among
them is an example?
a. surgeon c. albularyo
b.yoga instructor d. medico
MULTIPLE CHOICE
5. There may be many health actors in our
society today, each of which has its own way
of healing. One thing that is common about
them is they share the same purpose. What is
it?
a. promote their medicine for their own benefit
b. bring us wellness and take away suffering
c. convince patients that their way of healing is
effective than the other
d. all of the above
 OUTPUT
Observe a traditional healing session. Document
the procedures observed by the healers. Do the
same for a medical session (if possible, if not
research through the internet). Compare and
contrast the two procedures. Feel free to use
any comparative variables.