Masters Theses

Date of Award

6-1986

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Anthropology

Major Professor

Michael H. Logan

Committee Members

Benita Howell, Gerald Schroedl

Abstract

The present study examines the folk medical concepts of high and low blood among East Tennessee residents. The purpose of the study was to identify the perceived symptoms, etiology, and treatment of these conditions. Forty-five rural and urban residents were interviewed, using structured and unstructured data-elicitation techniques. Several area physicians were also interviewed to obtain the health professional's perspective on the use of folk medical terminology by patients receiving conventional health care.

Informants in this study perceived high blood as a condition characterized by a flushed face, a rush of blood to the head, swimmy-headed feelings, and often a headache, nosebleed, or swollen ankles. High blood is perceived as causing or contributing to the individual having a stroke. It is thought to be caused by diet, particularly the consumption of excessive amounts of red meat and of starchy, greasy foods, by very hot weather, as well as by certain emotional states, notably anger, tension, and depression. Obese, middle-aged individuals of either sex are the most likely candidates for high blood, and a family history of this condition is believed to increase the probability of its occurrence in an individual.

Low blood was described by informants as a condition characterized by a pale appearance, and by feelings of generalized fatigue, lethargy, and lack of energy. In folk medical theory, low blood is thought to be caused by an insufficient amount of blood-building foods in the diet, for example red meats, liver, grape juice, and red wine, or by consuming an excessive amount of blood-thinning foods such as pale, astringent juices, which are thought to "bring down" one's blood. Treatment of low blood most frequently involves consuming foods that are thought to be "blood builders."

Informants in this study reported, interestingly, no knowledge of the dimensions of "bitter" and "sweet" as they apply to high or low bloods, dimensions which have been reported in high-low blood belief systems for other peoples in the southeastern United States (Mathews 1979; Moerman 1981). Perceived symptoms and treatments of high and low blood in this study were similar to those reported in other U.S. populations (Mathews 1979; Moerman 1981; Snow 1974; Weidman et al. 1978), save for the tendency of several respondents to recognize little difference between high and low blood in symptomatology. For these individuals, any imbalance in the blood is thought to be unhealthy, whether the imbalance is in an upward or downward direction.

In this study, rural white, urban white, and urban Black individuals showed varying degrees of knowledge about the high-low blood belief system. Responses of the urban Blacks reflected the highest level of knowledge of the three groups, rural white individuals the next highest level, and urban whites the lowest level of knowledge of the three groups.

Interviews with area physicians revealed that many patients in East Tennessee use a vocabulary in which some health related words have meanings specific to this area. Communication between patient and physician is hindered to the extent that the physician does not fully understand the popular meanings of the terms and phrases that the patient uses, or the physician is not aware that the patient is attributing different meanings to the words than the meaning understood by the physician.

The importance of understanding the patient's health beliefs and practices is receiving increasing attention among health profes sionals today, particularly because this knowledge can help to create a more favorable outcome concerning consultation and compliance, as well as for diagnosis and therapy. A better understanding of folk medical belief systems, such as high and low blood, when in corporated into clinical practice, can improve the overall quality of health care.

Download
Files over 3MB may be slow to open. For best results, right-click and select "save as..."

Share

COinS