Cultural Influence on the Shaping of Health and Behaviors

On this episode of EJBTalks Stuart Shapiro welcomes Professor Jylana Sheats, instructor for the course Culture and Health in Bloustein's undergraduate program. They discuss her early interest in connecting behaviors and culture to health issues that led to her career in academia studying the social determinants of health. Professor Sheats talks about the importance of recognizing and training the medical community early and often regarding cultural competency, not only to shed light on how cultural influences affect health but also to help eliminate health disparities.  The two also discuss the pandemic and some surprising, but not necessarily negative, effects it has had on health and cultural behaviors.