A Study Of Medical Practice Of COPD Patients

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)is a chronic disease that mainly affects the health of the elderly population,and based on the current global trend of aging,the impact and burden caused by COPD are increasing.However,this impact is not commensurate with the fact that little is known about the daily life of people with COPD,and that COPD is often associated with a greater relationship between human habits and the effectiveness of modern biomedicine in the treatment of COPD,and that the medical practice of COPD is strongly linked to sociocultural factors.Therefore,it is necessary to intervene in the medical practice and prevention of patients with COPD from the perspective of anthropological socio-cultural studies.In this thesis,we study the medical practices of patients with COPD through fieldwork in Lanzhou L Hospital and present the disease perceptions,pain narratives,and action strategies of patients with COPD.On the one hand,we present the daily life of patients with COPD disease,and on the other hand,we try to explore the relationship between disease perceptions of patients with COPD,early detection of COPD and treatment,and the action strategies adopted by patients in the light of disease perceptions and the impact of the disease.Ultimately,this paper makes recommendations for the prevention,treatment,and care of patients with COPD concerning their medical practices and related research.Based on anthropological studies of medical practice,this paper focuses on three main topics in the context of medical care,health,and culture.First,the etiological perspective of patients with COPD.The etiology of patients with COPD is influenced by modern biomedical and local knowledge,but also reflects the real body feelings and experiences of these patients,and these multiple influences of disease perceptions also influence patients’ choices of medical actions.Second,the narratives of illness and pain of patients with COPD.COPD causes patients’ uncontrolled body,psychological depression,and social tensions at home and work,resulting in a disordered state of life.This disorganization is reflected in patients’ narratives of pain and suffering.Finally,the action strategies of people with COPD.With their disease perceptions and personal and liver disorders,people with COPD try various strategies to restore order.Some are unable to adapt to the environment or air pollution and choose to live in a different region and quit smoking;some are depressed and turn to spiritual practice for strength;some have no meaning in their lives and rediscover the value of their existence by helping their fellow patients.From individual change to collective support,from biomedicine to spiritual practice,it can be seen that although COPD crushes the body and life of patients,it cannot shatter their hope for life.Combining the medical practices of patients and related studies on COPD,this thesis suggests prevention,treatment,and care for COPD and patients,which needs to bring into play the power of social culture on the one hand and strengthen the power of social support and formal care on the other hand,which should be a part of China’s future promotion of building a healthy China and implementing an active aging strategy.Through the study of medical practices of patients with COPD,we found that,first,in the study of anthropological disease cognition,multiple factors of local knowledge,body perception,and biomedicine work together to influence the formation of patients’ disease cognition.When exploring the influence of local knowledge on disease cognition,we also need to pay attention to the formation process behind local knowledge,which implies the development process of local social-regional history.Second,the relationship between formal and informal care has been debated in caregiving research.This paper argues that formal care should be complementary to informal care,still based on informal care and that formal care is introduced only when the power of informal care is overwhelmed,but informal care still plays a role.Third,the understanding of the disease,especially treatment,requires a combination of factors,and relying solely on modern biomedical clinical treatment is not a complete solution to the problem;socio-cultural factors need to be taken into account,especially in the prevention and healing of chronic diseases.