Clinically applied anthropology: concepts for the family physician

The incorporation of the sociobehavioral sciences into the teaching and practice of medicine has been a hallmark of family practice. The strong ecological orientation that family medicine shares with anthropology provides a unifying framework for incorporating anthropological concepts and techniques into clinical family practice. This paper presents an ecologically oriented framework for organizing and integrating individual, family (primary group), neighborhood (community), and societal level variables. Core anthropological concepts are presented within the context of this framework. The application of this approach is illustrated using case material derived from a five-year multidisciplinary experience in teaching these concepts to family practice residents.