Paper short abstract:

Based on research conducted as part of an anthropology field school, this paper explores the health maintenance practices of people living in rural Malaysia and emphasises the contribution of traditional therapies - particularly Chinese medicine and Malay healing - to people's concepts of wellbeing. Co-authored by the Health Mapping Group

Paper long abstract:

The Malaysian health system is premised on aspirational mission statements which set forth a series of goals to facilitate positive changes in health and wellbeing for the population. This includes provision of universal health care and preventive health. However, significant gaps remain between aspiration and realisation, and many people are unable to access preventive care due to issues related to hidden costs, availability of particular services, or because of cultural preferences for healthcare. In this paper, based on a 2017 anthropology field school, we explore the factors that underlie people healthcare choices. For our participants, ideas of keeping healthy (health maintenance) were important and, although such services were theoretically offered via public health services, this was not the case in practice. Instead, community members expressed an explicit preference for traditional healers - most commonly Chinese traditional medical practitioners or bomohs (Malay healers)- because of the wholistic provision of care. In this paper, we explore these reasons and question the relationship between health and the state in ensuring the best outcome for the community.