Give three compelling examples of how cultural issues affect your project?
In the Philippines, especially the rural parts, they typically turn toward eastern medicines to tackle their problems. The reasoning for this is the Philippines is one of the few Asian countries that are catholic. Due to this they believe these herbal remedies, massages or healing by spiritual means are derived from the devotion of Christian saints. As a result of turning to herbal medicines they rarely receive routine check ups and vaccines. This affects our project because when a women is giving birth many complications may occur. The baby’s placenta could be stuck on the uterine wall of the mother or the mother may have severe bleeding. All these problems could be quickly solve by surgery but because many Filipino people do not turn to western medicine they could potentially die.
People in the Philippines very rarely go to the doctor and when they do they are not very vocal about the health. This affects our projects because if the people we are working with are not forthcoming to people of authority how will they be forthcoming to us. If an expecting mother does not feel comfortable talking about her pregnancy to someone who is able to help her it is understandable that she may not trust a group of college students who are conducting research. She could possibly see this as an invasion of privacy and she may not see it as helping her. This could hinder our research because we will not be able to gather what expecting mothers of the Philippines need.
Instead of going to the hospital many Filipino women choose to have natural home births. This affects our project because where would conducting our research may be more difficult. Typically we would go to the local hospitals and doctors offices but if many of the Filipino women do not go there how will know what we need. If we do not know the needs of the women then making a product to help them will be more difficult.
Have you experienced or observed any of these social situations at home? Describe at least three such situations.
Growing up my mother was wary about doctors, especially vaccines. Her belief was that if I was not sick I did not necessarily need it. Although I got all the necessary shots that are typically required in the United States I would not receive the ones that I did not really need. My mother would never nag me about getting the flu shot like other mothers. Especially when I was required to receive shots my mother would question the doctor endlessly just to make sure the shot would be doing good instead of bad.
My mother also would see herbalists when she never felt well. I remember at a young age I was taken to a doctors office but it did not look like a real doctor’s office. There were the first times I witnessed cupping and acupuncture. Also when ever I had stomaches or had a fever my mother would never hand me Advil but instead she would make soups and teas. She would wrap me in blankets and force me to drink these soups/teas and tell me that I would need to sweat out her toxins. If I was sick she would rarely take me to the doctors unless it was serious.
Give three examples of cultural practices that can be leveraged to addressed community/market problems?
Our product that we are making will help with the birthing process at home. If expected mothers are unable or unwilling to go to the hospitals for extra help they will be able to receive it from our device.
It is also would not pose as a potential threat that they could possibly view vaccines as. It is a product that helps them with the birthing process. It in no way induces labor or helps with the pain that comes along with the birthing process. It is there just to hopefully help them avoid complications that could possibly occur that may have occurred without the use of the device.
Also from a religious aspect, the typically do not want other things interfering with the birthing process and they believe that it should natural process. With this device it would still be considered a natural process because there is no medication being injected or surgery happening.