World Health Organization defines Health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Therefore, health includes physical, social and psychological well-being. Anthropologists, working on said aspects, are realizing that both biological and social factors need to be considered to understand human health. Anthropologists examine the major health issues that affect most human societies, describing and synthesizing the ways in which biology, culture, health, and environment interact. Therefore, the subject itself is developing as 'Bio-cultural syntheses'.
The present work is an outcome of two national seminar entitled "Human Health: A Bio-cultural Synthesis" (Phases I and II) organized by Department of Anthropology, West Bengal State University during March 2010. It intends to explore such field of Anthropology and related health sciences to understand it from the holistic point of view. Therefore, it is not only related to biological or genetic aspect of health, but also socio-cultural influences on human health.
This book would help researchers, policy-makers, administrators and workers working in the field of human health to understand the same as a bio-cultural synthesis. |
