Deconstructing Biases- The West is Not Best

Abstract

The Western world, a mirage of wealth, power, knowledge and competence, is often used as a measuring stick to which the rest of the world is compared. Academics interested in the Global Health understand the need to dismantle preconceived notions of people, culture and health in their work. However, there might be one deeply rooted bias that has not left us. As I packed my bags for a month long immersion in rural island medicine in the Philippines, I did not realize that I was unprepared to face my implicitly held belief that “health in the West is best”.