Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.
Introduction
Medicine has developed throughout the centuries, and the current level of medical science is dramatically different from the past decades. Treatment reflects the culture and the current status of the countrys development. It is connected both with technological progress and attitudes to personality, spirituality, and historical heritage. For instance, trends that are dominant in society in a particular period are reflected in media and determine most peoples views on all aspects of life. Modern Western culture is centered around the value of personality and an inclusive attitude towards all individuals, which is different from the previous centuries when the culture was centered around the norms of the Christian faith. It is possible to hypothesize that medicine evolves with the culture and is affected by the current context.
Discussion and Analysis
Contemporary medicine is personalized and centered around the needs of the individual. Until recent decades, treatment promoted the universal approach to treating all patients regardless of their diagnosis and personal differences. Precision and individual attitude to all patients is now evident in the perspective of the healthcare personnel to people and the technological aspects of healthcare (Prainsack, 2017). For instance, contemporary medical technologies provide patients with a detailed analysis of their health state, which is essential in treating the individuals particular problem. In addition, modern Western culture emphasizes the importance of establishing a connection with every individual, which supposes the respectful attitude of healthcare workers to the patients characteristics (Prainsack, 2017). These details allow us to assume that modern medicine evolved from universal recommendations and approaches to the personalized attitude in the technological sphere and patient interactions. It corresponds to the individualistic trend in the contemporary Western culture that values the personality with all their differences.
Medicine evolves with society, which is reflected in how healthcare mirrors social justice trends that American media popularizes. The tendency toward equality and making the American society more just for all people regardless of their nationality, skin color, and level of income is evident in recent decades. The reforms of the health care sector, including the adoption of the acts that make health insurance easier to access for poor Americans, illustrate these tendencies towards social justice (Prainsack, 2017). It is a critical shift from the belief that good healthcare is only available for rich people to the idea that all people have equal rights to receive high-quality medical assistance when they need it, regardless of their income.
Another tendency in modern medicine that represents current cultural trends is self-care and attempts to minimize the chances for the development of illnesses. The popularization of a healthy lifestyle that has become trendy shows that people are focused on their well-being, changing from treating conditions to effective disease prevention (Prainsack, 2017). It explains the popularization of various online courses that provide people with healthy diets, programs for workouts, fitness challenges, and others. Therefore, there is a shift from the ability of the medicine to cure everything towards eliminating the chances of becoming ill to increasing life expectancy without help from health care professionals.
The peculiar detail is that the cultural context influences not only the widespread beliefs about medicine but also shapes the identity with personal views on healthcare. Faith and religious background are essential components determining the perception of medicine a particular person has. For example, some Christians who were brought up in strict religious families developed the fatalist view on medicine and their health, claiming that their lives are in the hands of God (Peck, 2019). Christianity and science were opposite each other for centuries because medical investigations aimed to challenge the views that religious people shared. As a result, medical progress was not quick until the 20th century, when the Western culture became more secular than in past times (Peck, 2019). This example shows that religion formed the cultural background of Western society for many centuries, and its influence on the evolution of medicine was long-term and critical. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the religious background that the country in general and every individual have to objectively evaluate the attitudes toward healthcare and medical progress.
Medicine develops in those spheres that endanger public health most, which is the logical response of science to the challenges. For instance, the spread of HIV has become a concern worldwide, and healthcare professionals pay attention to HIV prevention and treatment in all countries. Scientists try to develop new methods to treat people who have HIV because millions of people have this diagnosis, and their number is constantly growing (McCarten-Gibbs & Allinder, 2019). It is possible to illustrate this hypothesis with the following statistical data:
Since the beginning of the pandemic in the early-1980s, an estimated 75 million people have contracted HIV, and 32 million have died of AIDS-related illnesses. Fueled by scientific advances and global political and financial will, more than 23 million people were on life-saving anti-retroviral treatment (ART) at the end of 2018 (McCarten-Gibbs & Allinder, 2019, p. 1).
These lines show that the spread of HIV among the population is a public health concern that affects the international community, which requires action from medicine. The emphasis on HIV prevention is easy to explain because this disease is still incurable, but it is possible to reduce contamination risks using contraception and specific behavioral rules (McCarten-Gibbs & Allinder, 2019). This example illustrates the idea that medicine evolves when it needs to respond to a particular challenge that is critical for a significant number of people.
Contemporary medicine aims to preserve human health instead of focusing on disease. This change of approach to healthcare marks the significant shift in treatment that happened during the last decades (Hargraves et al., 2018). Even though modern medicine still aims to eliminate the illness, it develops a more cautious attitude to the patient, and healthcare professionals try to help the person preserve an everyday life without restrictions. It shows that modern medicine has become more humane and more centered around the needs of the individual.
Conclusion
To conclude, it is impossible to define cultural progress from the evolution of medicine. Social and cultural trends and the most relevant problems that exist in healthcare determine the development of medicine and science. For many centuries, Christianity determined the cautious attitude to medical research, and the secularization of the Western society made progress in this sphere more evident. Nowadays, medicine reflects the tendency to make society more equal and just, develop a more personalized attitude to every individual, and cope with the existing healthcare challenges, including treatment and prevention of infections like HIV. Therefore, there is the evident connection between the evolution of medicine and the development of culture and society.
References
Hargraves, I. G., Behfar, A., Foxen, J. L., Montori, V. M., & Terzic, A. (2018). Towards regeneration: the evolution of medicine from fighting to building. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 361.
McCarten-Gibbs, M. V., & Allinder, S. M. (2019). The evolution and future of HIV prevention technology: An HIV policy primer. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Peck, S. L. (2019). Trajectories in the evolution of Mormon studies on faith and science. Mormon Studies Review 6: 6790.
Prainsack, B. (2017). Personalized medicine: Empowered patients in the 21st century? NYU Press.
Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.