The concepts of health and illness among young Malay breast cancer patients = Konsep kesihatan dan keuzuran dalam kalangan golongan muda pesakit barah payudara etnik Melayu

• Main Author: Sulaiman, Szariannie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kolej Universiti Islam Melaka (KUIM) 2018
• Subjects: GN Anthropology
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/69401/1/69401_The%20concepts%20of%20health%20and%20illness%20among%20young%20Malay_article.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/69401/; http://www.kuim.edu.my/journal/index.php/JSS/article/view/259/224
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

Health and illness are culturally shaped concepts through which they are perceived, experienced and managed. With diverse cultural background, patients commonly bring different stories to a similar ill-health condition. Among patients suffering from chronic illness like breast cancer, understanding how these concepts are perceived is significant in managing cancer in any multi-ethnic society. In relation to this, thirteen breast cancer patients between the ages of 29 and 48 years old were selected. This study aims at exploring the meaning of health and illness as perceived by young Malay female breast cancer patients. An ethnographic fieldwork was conducted for approximately 10 months from December 2013 until October 2014in Kuala Lumpur and several areas in Selangor, Malaysia. The study employed a qualitative approach using participant observation, in-depth interviews, telephone and online interviews. It is evident in this study that informants had associated the concept of health and illness with their belief systems. For them, a good health is associated with spiritual dimension and having strong ‘semangat’. On the other hand, many of them associated illness with ‘lemah semangat’. It was observed that the concepts of health and illness among young Malay breast cancer patients are deeply rooted in their belief system, both religious and cultural beliefs. **************************************************************************************************** Latar belakang budaya banyak mempengaruhi cara bagaimana masyarakat memahami konsep kesihatan dan keuzuran. Ia turut mempengaruhi bagaimana pesakit melalui pengalaman dan mengurus kesihatan dan penyakit mereka. Dengan latar belakang budaya yang pelbagai, pesakit biasanya membawa kisah yang berbeza kepada keadaan kesihatan yang serupa. Bagi pesakit yang menderita penyakit kronik seperti barah payudara, memahami bagaimana konsep-konsep ini dilihat adalah penting dalam menguruskan peyakit barah dalam mana-mana masyarakat pelbagai kaum. Sehubungan itu, tiga belas pesakit kanser payudara di antara umur 29 dan 48 tahun telah dipilih untuk kajian ini. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk meneroka konsep kesihatan dan keuzuran seperti yang dialami oleh pesakit muda barah payudara etnik Melayu. Kerja lapangan etnografi telah dijalankan selama kira-kira 10 bulan dari Disember 2013 hingga Oktober 2014 di Kuala Lumpur dan beberapa kawasan di Selangor, Malaysia. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif menggunakan pemerhatian turut serta, temubual mendalam, temubual telefon dan temubual dalam talian. Hasil dapatan kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa pesakit barah payudara telah mengaitkan konsep kesihatan dan keuzuran dengan sistem kepercayaan mereka. Bagi mereka, kesihatan yang baik dikaitkan dengan dimensi kerohanian dan „kuat semangat‟. Sebaliknya, „lemah semangat‟ dikaitkan sebagai punca keuzuran. Kesimpulannya, konsep kesihatan dan keuzuran dalam kalangan pesakit muda barah payudara etnik Melayu dipengaruhi oleh sistem kepercayaan agama dan budaya mereka