We each come to public health with a set of our own beliefs, assumptions, experiences, judgements, and views that reflect our culture and upbringing, as well as the events of our life. For this assignment, you must think about your own health experiences and the way they have been impacted by your cultural background and the way you think about health and illness.

Firstly, think about how your family deal with illness or treat illness condition.

Do they use home remedies to treat illness? How do they decide an illness is serious? What are their preferred ways of managing health and illness?

Secondly, compare how your own personal experiences relate to the views and actions of other people in the same community.

Is your family in the majority when it comes to dealing with health and illness? Do they act differently to the most people in the community? If they are different, then explain why and how their behaviour was shaped that way which made them different to others in the community.

Thirdly, discuss your own assumptions about health.

Who do you think is responsible for health – the individual involved, the family, the society in which he or she lives, the government, health services or others?

To what extent, do you think people should manage their own health? Who should carry the risk associated with disease and illness?

Finally, consider the role that culture and social background play in health and illness.

Discuss the ways this might affect professional practice in public health, including why it is necessary for a public health practitioner to be aware of cultural differences in health and illness.

This is an individual 2000 words reflective assessment. Your reflections to these areas should be supported by evidence from literature, textbooks or other authentic sources.  All references must be cited appropriately with a reference list. In drawing on your own experiences, you may use pictures and other creative material to help illustrate your reflections, but these must also be appropriate cited if they are not your own materials. You cannot use materials from google or any internet sources which does not meet academic standards and guidelines.

This reflective practice assessment will be assessed against following criteria.

1.     A deep reflection with ability to write clearly following academic coherence

2.     Logically draw and analyse personal experiences around health and illness

3.     Critically examine and compare the familial and social context of health

4.     Succinctly provide evidence-based arguments around different conceptualisation and accountability to health

5.     Appropriate grammar, citation and referencing