How Does Culture Influence Pain?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

, , , ,

Culture

relates directly to the expression of pain

. Our upbringing and social values influence how we express pain and its nature, intensity and duration. These factors are not as obvious as socio-psychological values such as age and gender.

How culture affect pain?

Culture relates directly to the expression of pain. Our

upbringing and social values

influence how we express pain and its nature, intensity and duration. These factors are not as obvious as socio-psychological values such as age and gender.

How does ethnicity affect pain?

Reviews of literature on race and pain found that: Race influences the experience of pain and of seeking treatment. In a population-based survey,

27 percent of African Americans

and 28 percent of Hispanics over the age of 50 reported having severe pain most of the time; only 17 percent of non-Hispanic whites did [7].

How does culture affect a patient?

The influence of culture on health is vast. It affects

perceptions of health, illness and death, beliefs about causes of disease

, approaches to health promotion, how illness and pain are experienced and expressed, where patients seek help, and the types of treatment patients prefer.

How does Japanese culture handle pain?

Gaman helps

Japanese people put up with internal, organic pain

, so they don’t bother others with their complaints. But seeking pain relief for something like a sore shoulder is okay, and that’s where the other cultural principle comes into play: risk aversion.

Which ethnicity has the lowest pain tolerance?


African-Americans

exhibit lower pain tolerance and higher unpleasantness ratings than Caucasians in experimental pain studies. Several studies have compared Caucasians with Asians such as Indian and Chinese. Asians generally demonstrated lower pain tolerances than Caucasians.

How do you determine your ethnicity?

People tend to inherit groups of SNPs together, called a haplotype. When Ancestry analyzes your DNA, they’re dividing it up into smaller chunks and assigning each chunk an “ethnicity” by

comparing

the haplotype to those of people in the company’s reference panel groups.

What are examples of cultural influences?

  • Personality i.e. sense of self and society. …
  • Language i.e. communication.
  • Dress.
  • Food habits.
  • Religion and religious faiths that is beliefs. …
  • Customs of marriages and religions and special social customs.

How does culture influence healthcare?

Culture

influences healthcare at all levels

, including communications and interactions with doctors and nurses, health disparities, health care outcomes, and even the illness experience itself. People in some cultures believe illness is the will of a higher power, and may be more reluctant to receive health care.

What are cultural influences?

Cultural influences means

historical, geographical, and familial factors that affect assessment and intervention processes

.

How do Japanese respond to pain?

“Gaman — it is to endure, accept the pain, don’t complain,” he says. Yamamoto says another phrase:

shikata ganai

. It means “it can’t be helped.” In a sense, that’s the situation here: Japan needs electricity, and there’s little coal and no oil domestically.

How do Japanese express pain?

“Gaman — it is to endure, accept the pain, don’t complain,” he says. Yamamoto says another phrase:

shikata ganai

. It means “it can’t be helped.” In a sense, that’s the situation here: Japan needs electricity, and there’s little coal and no oil domestically.

Why is it essential to assess one’s cultural background when determining pain response of an individual?

Health professionals should incorporate cultural values when evaluating pain scores. A patient’s facial expressions may show they are

in severe pain

, yet they may report a low pain score because it is part of their cultural belief that pain should be endured.

What race has higher pain tolerance?

Results:

African American

subjects reported higher levels of clinical pain as well as greater pain-related disability than white participants. In addition, substantial group differences were observed for ischemic pain tolerance, with African Americans demonstrating less tolerance than whites.

What nationality has the highest pain tolerance?

Studies have shown that

white people

possess higher pain tolerance when compared to African American and Hispanic minorities. It is inconclusive whether pain tolerance differs by ethnicity.

What is the main cause of somatic pain?

Somatic pain occurs when

pain receptors in tissues (including the skin, muscles, skeleton, joints, and connective tissues) are activated

. Typically, stimuli such as force, temperature, vibration, or swelling activate these receptors. This type of pain is often described as: cramping.

Amira Khan
Author
Amira Khan
Amira Khan is a philosopher and scholar of religion with a Ph.D. in philosophy and theology. Amira's expertise includes the history of philosophy and religion, ethics, and the philosophy of science. She is passionate about helping readers navigate complex philosophical and religious concepts in a clear and accessible way.