The theory I have chosen to use for examining maternal mortality rates in Yemen is the Critical Medical Anthropological Theory. The question that this theory asks is “What inequalities in political, economic, or social power lead to better or worse outcomes for particular groups of people?”, or more basically “Who benefits, and who suffers?” (Lecture 1.4). The anthropologist study how each aspect ties together to show how illness is interpreted, treated, and experienced. The biology of the issue as well as the culture of the health issue is related in a way that didn’t exist before (Joralemon 2017). To gather this data researchers, use ethnographic methods, and do interviews to do discover inequalities in each culture (ThoughtCo 2018). By using these methods, they are able to understand how these influence medical treatment and answer who benefits and who suffers. Furthermore, within the field there are academic and applied anthropologists. Academic work at universities and research and/or teach. Applied anthropologists work in hospitals, medical schools, and international organizations working to solve a specific question (ThoughtCo 2018). Finally, the biggest reason that this theory was created was because the other theories were missing this aspect while asking questions and has been able to really focus on the little people instead of ignoring certain groups.
Secondly, this is the best theory to use to examine maternal mortality rates in Yemen because it encompasses most of the reasons why this issue was created. The maternal mortality rates have been a continuous problem in Yemen because of the poverty some families are in, child marriages, the lack of proper health resources both before the war and after, and the problems with the healthcare system. By combining the political laws and politics of the government, where the money is being placed and how much people, and women’s, you can not only see where Yemen is going wrong, but where to start fixing the problem. This is better than the other four theories because they don’t fully cover the full spand of the cause. The epidemiological theory looks at how we can get rid of the problem at the population level, however this fails to look at how the individual can afford treatment or their family’s dynamics (Lecture 1.2). When you look at the Evolutionary theory, you’re looking at how humans evolve to be healthy and how the environment can impact this (Lecture 1.3). This is probably the least relevant to this health issue and fails to look at the problems in their culture happening now. Next, the Interpretive theory looks at how humans interpret an event and how this shows how we treat it (Lecture 1.6). Finally, the feminist theory only looks at the inequality of women present and how that relates to their medical treatment (Lecture 1.6). On the other hand, this doesn’t look at how economic and social constructs can also affect this health issue. To conclude, the critical medical theory hits the entire span of the problem and is the best option to review the health issue.
1. Lewis, Elizabeth. “An Introduction to Medical Anthropology.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 21 Sept. 2018, www.thoughtco.com/medical-anthropology-4171750.
2. Joralemon, Donald. “Recognizing Biological, Social, and Cultural Interconnections.”, 2017 Exploring Medical Anthropology, pp. 30–56.
3. Lecture 1.2
4. Lecture 1.3
5. Lecture 1.4
6. Lecture 1.6