Ethnocentrism is a phenomenon in anthropology that is used to describe individuals who think that their culture is most superior and best as compared to others. Ethnocentric individuals lack regard for other cultures because they view their own culture as the most acceptable in society (Lumen Learning, 2019). In some situations, ethnocentrism can lead to wars or genocide of people whose culture is not respected by the ethnocentric lot. In one instance, I came across an ethnocentric patient who refused to get a tetanus toxoid claiming that their culture did not approve the use of the vaccine. According to the patient, tetanus injection was prohibited because their culture taught them that it could make women barren. Their relatives also had the same view about tetanus; thus, it was difficult to administer the injection to this particular patient. It was quite unfortunate because the patient was suffering deep cuts resulting from a road accident.
Hence, the lack of a tetanus injection meant that the patient was exposed to germs that could lead to a severe infection, especially on her leg that was badly injured. For this reason, the patient took a long time to heal because of the lack of tetanus injection. This ethnocentric behavior would have long-lasting effects on the patient’s health given that the injuries could have enabled the entry of germs into her body (Thomas & Yahav, 2016) . This could further aggravate her condition, hence, necessitating amputation of her legs. The patient might experience challenges in the future when they go to a healthcare facility, particularly when they are pregnant, then refuse to get the tetanus injection. In some facilities, they could be left without any medical attention because some of the medical professionals would take their behavior for arrogance or contempt of their work.
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References
Lumen Learning. (2019). Cultural Anthropology| Ethnocentrism . Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/culturalanthropology/chapter/ethnocentrism/
Thomas, L., & Yahav, S. (2016). Cultural relativism in health care: Bridging global health disparities for minorities and the underserved. The Journal of MacroTrends in Health and Medicine , 1016 (4), 20-24.
