IndianHealthcare

Religion: 

• Hinduism-80.5%
• Islam-13.4%
• Christianity-2.3%
• Sikhism-1.9%   
• Buddhism-0.8% 

• Other-0.7%
• Jainism-0.4%

Religious Beliefs:

• Many are vegetarians
• Believe illness is caused by Karma
• Many perfer to die at home
• During pregnancy, spiritual ceremories are performed to rid the mother of evil spirits
• Only family members are allowed to touch the body after death
• Cannot take pills with capsules that contain pig or cow fat
• Showingpainis acceptable in this society 

Diet:

• Most food is vegetarian
• Chicken, goat, fish, and lamb are common meats eaten 
•  Spices used:
• tadoori
• tamarind
• parsley 
• curry
• cardamom
• coriander
• clove
• turmeric
• red and green chili
• peppercorn
• cumin

Languages: 

• India has 23 official languages including:
• Hindu
• Urdu
• Marathi
• Punjabi
• Telugu
• Sindhi
• Assamese
• Bengal
• Bodo 
• Dogri
• Gujarati
• Kannada
• Kashmiri
• Konkani
• Mathili
• Malayalam
• Manipuri
• Nepali
• Oriya
• Sanskirt
• Santhali
• Tamil 

Conversations:

• Not acceptable to touch someone during conversation
• Traditionally, women do not make eye contact

Useful Translations: 

Tell me what is wrong with you

 मुझे यह बताना आप के साथ क्या गलती

How bad does it hurt?

 यह किस प्रकार बुरा आहत हुई हैं?

Hospitals in India:

• Provide treatment at taxpayer expense
• Free or at minimal charge
• Primary healthcare is free of cost
• Immunization, pregnancy, child birth, postnatal care, treatment of common illnesses

Four A's of Healthcare:

• Accessible
• Available on Demand
• Affordable
• Accountable

• Ayurvedic system- mental/spiritual health and physical well-being (vaidya practitioner) 
• Unani-herbal medicine practice (hakim practitioner) 

Modern Healthcare: 

• A lot of people travel to India for effective medical treatment since it is a lower cost
• Women are preferred to do healthcare, example: Doctors, nurses, etc. 

Common Diseases in India:

• Water supply and sanitation in India is a major issue.  There is a lack of proper sanitation facilities and safe drinking water
• 900,000 people die each year from drinking contaminated water and breathing in polluted air 
• Malaria
• Tuberculosis
• Polio
• AIDS/HIV have decreased due to education
• 1/2 of Children in India are malnourished and underweight
• Lack of toilet facilities
• results in open defecation in urban areas of India 

awww 

Links

http://bearspace.baylor.edu/Charles_Kemp/www/indian_health.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_India

http://www.indianfoodforever.com/

http://im.rediff.com/news/2009/sep/17sld1.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_spices

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_India