The Encounters and Challenges of Ethnography as a Methodology in Health Research

Abstract

Medical anthropology has existed since the early 1960s, and the encounters of ethnography in health research are recent. We will trace key historical markers and highlight several ethnographic studies in health research in this article. In particular, we are interested how aspects of classic ethnographic work have been taken up, and how the use has changed over time, as ethnographies, such as focused ethnographies and other forms of ethnography, have developed in health research. Understandings of culture have shifted and led to redefinitions of culture, and some key elements of ethnographic research have been lost. Ethnographies conducted in health research often do not focus on culture from a broader perspective; instead, the focus is on single health-related issues. Health researchers appear to spend less time in the field, time spent in the field is regarded as less important, and the importance of the context of field notes is underestimated.