Soc Sci Med. 1994 Apr; 38(7): 999-1010.

The social significance of routine health behavior in Tamang daily life.

Jackson JC, Jackson-Carroll L.

Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA 98104.

Programs to promote behavioral change among non-Western people sometimes emphasize individual cognitive processes at the expense of social practices. While health beliefs are important, it is equally important to understand the language and the pattern of relationships that affect routine health behaviors. In rural central Nepal we conducted a health survey of 265 Tamang people, followed by a series of 22 in-depth interviews focused on diarrhea and related illnesses. This paper describes the nomenclature used and automatic health behaviors enacted, in response to diarrheal illnesses in Tamang villages. We draw on the work of Anthony Giddens to show that routine health behavior is embedded in specific social relationships that in turn help to structure many aspects of Tamang daily life. We discuss the significance of routine Tamang health behavior in light of oral rehydration therapy programs.