Healthways
Newfoundland elders: their lifestyles and values
R.R. Andersen, J.K. Crellin, B. O'Dwyer
The disciplines of anthropology, linguistics and medicine are brought together in this exploration of changing health care beliefs and practices in Newfoundland. Dr. Raoul Andersen, Anthropology, Dr. John Crellin, Medicine, and Dr. Bernie O'Dwyer, English, set out to listen to older people and let them speak for themselves. From these recollections, the authors analyze the values and meaning which influence maintaining health and treating illness.
"Our interest in values came about as we interpreted the stories of how these people were brought up, what work they did and how they stayed healthy and handled illness," said Dr. Crellin. "We identified what they themselves see as their values."
Thirty interviews with men and women from 62 to 92 years of age were done for this book, covering many occupations and communities in the province. Common opinions emerge, such as the value of a simple diet and constant physical exercise. One man from the Southern Shore recalls porridge for breakfast with nutmeg on it, followed by a dose of cod liver oil. A woman from St. John's recalls that people did so much walking that they didn't have to exercise.
The major illness was tuberculosis. Some people interviewed for this book questioned the long treatment at the Sanatorium, even suggesting that wild cherry bark as a self-treatment was a better answer. One man's opinion was that many of the people who died of tuberculosis were really dying of starvation.
The authors of Healthways feel their book presents a challenge to those in primary health care to understand past and present values among the elderly. Dr. Crellin notes that most health consultations do not allow sufficient time to discover and interpret the importance of an individual's values in shaping health, illness and recovery. Dr. O'Dwyer, who will use this book in his course on literature, language and medicine, said the information in it is important for physicians and other health professionals; he would like to see a study of literature and medicine become part of the curriculum in medicine, nursing and social work.
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