Cultural Health Barriers and Risks Among the Kazakhs Culture Group in Mongolia

Cultural Health Barriers and Risks Among the Kazakhs Culture Group in Mongolia
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Cultural Health Barriers and Risks Among the Kazakhs Culture Group in Mongolia
Several cultural health barriers and risks are impacting the Kazakh culture group living in Mongolia. Understanding these cultural health barriers, prevention methods, and possible remedies is essential to promote better-being among this population. This paper provides an overview of cultural health barriers faced by Kazakhs in Mongolia. It discusses the population's beliefs about health care services, various cultural coping mechanisms for dealing with illnesses or pain, and how this may affect their lifestyle choices. It also describes the limitations of available healthcare services in Mongolia accessible to members of this culture group. Finally, it discusses some potential solutions for improving access to healthcare for Kazakhs living in Mongolia.
Analysis of the Cultural Health Barriers and Risks Among the Kazakhs
The Kazakhs are among the most populous ethnic groups in Central Asia, with close to 20 million people living in Kazakhstan and hundreds of thousands living throughout other countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and China. The Kazakh culture group comprises three distinct subgroups: Traditional nomadic Kirghiz, Buryats, and Kazakhs. Each group has a different language and traditions, but every group shares a shared history. Traditionally, the Kazakhs were nomadic herders who moved their herds to different Kazakhstan and other countries. The Kazakhs prided themselves on their mobility, physically demanding lifestyle, and fierce independence (Aubakirova et al., 2016).
Nomadic life is known to be very difficult for humans. It places an immense strain on the body due to daily travel, lack of shelter and food resources, among other things. Nomads are also exposed to many dangers such as wild animals, dust storms, cold temperatures, and high altitudes during the winter months. Additionally, traditionally nomadic people engage in activities such as hunting, herding camels for milk, and tending flocks of sheep without any significant medical risk aside from dehydration or starvation. However, the Kazakhs were increasingly connected to the outside world following the Soviet rule of Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries (Aubakirova et al., 2016). The Kazakhs started to engage in other economic activities such as farming, increasing exposure to infectious diseases, and poor environmental conditions.
The transition to a sedentary lifestyle and modern healthcare also created new health concerns among the Kazakhs. Current healthcare practices such as vaccinations, childhood illnesses, and alternative medicine can inconvenience nomadic nomads who prefer traditional healing methods. Traditional Kazakh healers advocate holistic healing practices that do not include Western medicine even when necessary (Fang & Stewart, 2018). For example, Kazakh nomads may choose to treat common ailments such as chronic diseases or injuries with traditional techniques rather than conventional Western medicine even when it is available.
The Kazakhs are the largest of the t...