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Culture, Diversity, and Global Health: Challenges and Opportunities

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Handbook of Global Health

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Abstract

In an increasingly globalized world, we continue to face dramatic health disparities that impact adversely on Indigenous, migrant, and refugee populations as well as other minority ethnic populations in most of the countries of the world. Culture plays an important role in how people experience health and illness, and how they access and experience health care. It impacts on the healthcare professionals as well as on their patients and the communities, modifying the healing relationship and presenting both barriers and opportunities for better health outcomes. This chapter will explore some of the key ways in which this happens with a view to highlight the opportunities that they represent. These include issues such as how the etiology of disease is perceived, health-seeking behavior, issues of racism, stigma and discrimination, as well as the impacts of stress, coping, and resilience. Finally, this chapter presents specific suggestions for improved healthcare systems that are more inclusive and that work toward more equitable health outcomes for culturally diverse communities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work, College of Arts, Society and Education Division of Tropical Environments and Societies, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia

    Narayan Gopalkrishnan

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  1. Narayan Gopalkrishnan
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Correspondence to Narayan Gopalkrishnan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Institute of International and Global Health Programme, Geneva, Switzerland

    Ilona Kickbusch

  2. Charité Foundation, Berlin, Germany

    Detlev Ganten

  3. World Health Organization, Regional Office, Brazzaville, Congo, Demographic Republic (Zaire)

    Matshidiso Moeti

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Gopalkrishnan, N. (2021). Culture, Diversity, and Global Health: Challenges and Opportunities. In: Kickbusch, I., Ganten, D., Moeti, M. (eds) Handbook of Global Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45009-0_5

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