Increasing access to and use of health promotion strategies and health care services
for diverse cultural groups is a national priority. While theories about the structural
determinants of help seeking have received empirical testing, studies about cultural
determinants have been primarily descriptive, making theoretical and empirical analysis
difficult. This article synthesizes concepts and research by the author and others
from diverse disciplines to develop the midrange theoretical model called the Cultural
Determinants of Help Seeking (CDHS). The multidimensional construct of culture,
which defines the iterative dimensions of ideology, political economy, practice, and
the body, is outlined. The notion of cultural models of wellness and illness as cognitive
guides for perception, emotion and behavior as well as the synthesized concept of
idioms of wellness and distress are introduced. Next, the CDHS theory proposes that
sign and symptom perception, the interpretation of their meaning, and the dynamics
of the social distribution of resources are all shaped by cultural models. Then the
CDHS model is applied to practice using research with Asians. Finally, implications
for research and practice are discussed