DIVERSITY OF MEDICAL DISCOURSES AND THEIR IMPACT UPON INDIVIDUAL’S NARRATIVES ABOUT ILLNESS IN WEST SUMATERA
Abstract: The aim of this
article is to give concrete examples of how narratives influence the way person
speaks about and interpret his illness. The research was conducted in West
Sumatera where people are exposed to a diverse range of health discourses: western
medicine, local ethno-medicine or Islamic way of treatment called ruqyah) and
its discourse changes the interpretation of one`s health condition. This study is
part of my research, which focused on the process of creation and negotiation of
a diagnosis within a multi-cultural and multi-discursive context of Indonesia. This
study concludes that people in West Sumetara withdraws from several different discourses
to give meaning to both their health and illness.
Author: Jiri Majer
Journal Code: jpsosiologigg130006
