Health & Culture

Culture: “behavior and beliefs that are learned and shared”

(Skolnik, 2022)

History: Filipino culture has been developed through a mixture of pre-colonial tradition and religion (such as Catholicism) as well as more modern medicinal routes from the west, like drug and surgical treatments.

(Hernandez, 2022)

5 Common Health Beliefs

Philippine culture promotes various ideas regarding what affects their health.

(Abad et al., 2014)

Namamana (Inheritance)

A common belief in the Philippines is that the occurrence of certain health conditions are inherited from their ancestors. While this can be true, such as genetically predisposed conditions like neural tube defects, many Filipinos attribute their otherwise genetically unrelated health issues to being inherited, and furthermore don’t always seek treatment for it, believing it to be of no concern.

Lihi (conception or maternal cravings)

It is often said in the Philippine culture that during a pregnancy, the cravings that a woman has and subsequently consumes frequently can affect the appearance of her child. For example, if a woman has a ‘lihi’ for crabs, her children are prone to developing crab-like limbs. This belief also leads many families to not pursue medical treatment since it seems like the natural order of things.

Pasma (hot and cold syndrome)

This attributes certain illness or states of health to the imbalance of hot and cold within your body. Those who believe in this take care to avoid/be cautious with especially “hot” or “cold” things, such as childbirth and taking a bath. A resulting imbalance can cause health disorders like postpartum psychosis or depression. Some methods of prevention include: massage therapy, avoiding certain environments or foods that are especially hot or cold, and pasuob (wrapping the new mother in a blanket and seating her on burnt herbs, producing sweat to expel the cold.

Gaba (curse)

This belief is closely linked to religion in the Philippines—that certain illnesses are curses brought on by a higher being. The curse is thought to be a punishment for sin.

Namaligno (mystical and supernatural causes

Some diseases are explained by the direct actions of God or a mystical being on that individual. One example of this is Marfan syndrome, which is characteristic for long limbs. Filipinos may attribute this to the actions of a giant, who impregnated the individual’s mother secretly.

Spotlight on the elderly

Elderly Filipinos have a more traditional view of health based on their culture. Health and well-being is strongly linked to their faith in God, and decisions are often a family matter before ever coming in contact with a healthcare facility.

Traditional views of mental health: Thoughts on mental health are traditionally those of shame and unwillingness to accept the problem, often leading to lack of treatment. Cultural stigmas against it stem from various beliefs: mental illness is weakness of spirit, and mental illness can be dealt with through family, friends, native healers or faith. Barriers to getting treatment are mainly due to lack of resources that fit into the Filipino religious models of health.

Traditional views of coping: culture in the Philippines embraces various models of behavioral coping with illness, including Tiyaga (Patience and endurance), Lakas ng Loob (flexibility), Tatawanan ang problema (humor), and Bahala Na (fatalistic resignation)—that health is in the hands of God and not to be messed with.

(Standford Medicine Ethnographics, n.d.)

Gender Roles

Based on their Spanish heritage, the Philippines traditionally embraces two concepts regarding gender roles: machismo and marianismo.

Machismo

A set of expectations for men on how they should behave to be a ‘man’—including “bravery, honor dominance, aggression, sexism, and reserved emotions”. (Nuñez et al., 2016) According to Nuñez et al., machismo characteristics are only for men, and it would be inappropriate for a woman to possess these traits (2016).

Marianismo

A set of expectations for women on how they should behave to be a ‘woman’—includes being family and home-centered, humble, passive, and pure (Nuñez et al., 2016). Research traces this back to their strong Judeo-Christian values, which also emphasizes this behavior.

The study done by Nuñez et al. found that the effects of machismo and marianismo can have a negative impact on cognitive and emotional health. This includes depression, cynical hostility, anxiety, and anger. (2016)

During president Rodrigo Duterte's administration, many claim's to the leader's sexism were made, embracing the full-on traditional view of machismo and often shaming the women in his country. Protests gathered during one of his state of the union addresses.

(Haynes, 2018).