Asian Healthcare Beliefs

From Japan, Korea, Philippians, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bhutan, China, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Asian American are considered to the minority population in us with less health related problems.

In the early 1800’s industrialization of the northeast and other national endeavors such as railroads and road building required much manual labor. This vast manual labor job market opened the flood gates into the United States for immigrants seeking prosperity and a better life for themselves and their families. By the mid 1800’s many Chinese immigrants had made the voyage to the U.S. and sought work mainly in the factories of the prosperous northeast as well as the California gold mines. Culturally the Chinese people’s actions are motivated by the concept of bringing honor and respect to the family as a whole, and less concerned about individual successes or prestige, which resulted in Chinese immigrant’s willingness to do high quality work for long hours for very little pay. This was beneficial to the employer and company, but displaced many other immigrant workers which caused racial tensions. Chinese immigrants were accustomed to living in tight quarters, working together as families or community units and making do with what was available. These qualities assisted in the development of China Towns, housing and cultural centers for the Chinese immigrant population, near or in the large cities where their populations were greatest such as New York and San Francisco as. Many Americans viewed these China Towns as unsanitary and unhealthy brothels where prostitution and smoking opium was commonplace.

Asian Americans (AAS) are diverse ethnic group’s origins from the Far East Southeast Asia and Indian continents. More than 800 languages are spoken among AAS. They are one of the fastest growing populations in the US. 43 percent increase between 2000 & 2010. There are 15.5 million Asian Americans living in the United States (2012 Census Bureau population). Even if all Asian Americans have the same traits, such as strong family values, importance in educations, following tradition and valuing personal relationship, still there are many differences in language and culture among Asian American groups as well. In 2012, the total private insurance coverage for Asian Americans was 68.8 percent, as compared to 74.4 percent for the non-Hispanic White population. 15 percent of Asian Americans were uninsured, as compared to 10.4 percent non-Hispanic White Americans.

What roles do culture, ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic status play in families' experiences in the healthcare system?

It is estimated that 20% of the U. S. population use herbal medicine. “The prevalence of herbal medicine use by some ethnic and cultural groups in the US may be even higher; one meta-analysis found that 4% to 40% (mean 30%) of Latinos living in the United States regularly used herbal medicine” (Kiefer, Tellez-Giron, & Bradbury, 2014, p. 64). The growing number of Latinos in the US and their reliance on herbal remedies is something that healthcare providers are going to have to address to be able to provide culturally competent care to this population.

Some similarities between this two groups in with regards accessing health care might be that they are both under the low ratio among communities that does not have insurance. They are both Minorities with similar backgrounds and health conditions that are popular among both groups are very similar. Differences are that the Hispanic/ Latino community is consider to be the number one group with the highest uninsured people in the US but this is due to immigration. Some of these people unfortunately does not a legal status in the country and for this reason they can not access health care. Another difference will be the language barrier.

Taking a shower less than 3 hours before you go outside in the winter, weather changing or drinking ginger tea are two commonly held beliefs by the superior culture in the United States about how illness can occur and be cured. All of these misconceptions are rooted our socially constructed minds and are ingrained in our practices and cultural beliefs. According to (Ritter, L., A. & Hoffman, N., A.) who stated that people from different cultures hold dissimilar beliefs about the causes and cures of illness, which impacts where one seeks medical help and care. There are many other factors that impact our health care experience, such as how we communicate about our health, and how health care decisions are made. Again, these factors could be

Health professionals should always put into consideration client’s cultural backgrounds during interview, examination, and treatment. When interviewing Ms. Li, an Asian-American, certain factors are to be considered:

“Demographics of the US population have changed dramatically in the last three decades. These changes directly impact the healthcare industry in regard to the patients we serve and our workforce” (Borkowski, 2012). In fact, Voutsas (2011) argues that the U.S workforce is the most demographically heterogeneous workforce in the world and he believes that this is due to major changes and diversity .Borkowski (2012) also states that the significant changes in the US populations has been seen greatly in regards to gender, age ,and race and ethnicity .

Approximately 17% of the American Asian population is uninsured. Cultural barriers between healthcare providers and the individuals they serve is not a new dilemma, however, there appears to be greater cultural roadblocks with Asian Americans. The cultural values of Asian Americans are very different from the cultural values and communication styles of providers. Asians are a collective culture, thus educating the entire family about kidney disease and preventive measures is ultimately very beneficial for the patient. Additionally, maintaining harmony is much more valuable to Asian culture than being forthright and causing discontent, consequently, when a provider asks “Did I explain myself? Do you have any questions?” Generally the response will be a smile and the path least troublesome for everyone. Healthcare providers are obligated to learn how to effectively communicate and treat their patients. There are many organizations within healthcare that are either providing training to healthcare professionals or are focusing on chronic disease treatment and readmission mitigation through population health

Culture has been found to play a monumental role in the manifestation of healthcare seeking behaviours. We have viewed the studies highlighting culture from two perspectives, that being individualistic and collectivistic cultures. Within the collectivist cultures factors such as family attitudes and opinions and relationships matter a lot. Factors such as joint family structure, role of other family members do influence health seeking behaviours among individuals (Ghosh, Chakrabarti, Chakraborty & Biswas, 2013; Shaikh & Hatcher, 2004). Thaker (2008) attempted to understand the role of culture in the health related behaviours of older Asian Indian immigrants. An analysis of the findings also addressed three cultural values that influenced these immigrants’ health behaviors: Establishing a personal relationship with their healthcare professional, high level of family involvement during treatment and also daily maintenance of health, and valuing alternative medicine. These studies show that factors such as patriarchy, joint family structure, roles of elderly family members do influence the possibility of seeking adequate health care services.

CAM is used by million of Americans. Despite its popularity, it remain an ongoing debate. Numerous physicians decline to utilize CAM therapies such as acupuncture and herbal supplements as a method of treating illness. Physician's view in general, however, appears to have a small impact on the increase use of CAM among patients. Although, a variety of treatments are available, more people are turning to CAM therapies to reduce pain and side effects. The popularity of CAM has forced health care providers to examine the use of CAM in medicine. More research is being conducted on the benefits and safety of CAM, and this paper evaluates such data and provides evidence in which these procedures are

Chinese patients will typically have family members at the bedside, day and night, taking care of them. The custom in both China and Japan is for the family to take care of the patient’s personal needs and the medical staff is there to practice medicine (Galanti, 2008). When a member of a Chinese family becomes ill, the family will rally around the patient to ensure they’re being cared for and loved. The family system in the Chinese culture is seen as one big moving part, where no individual is greater or more important than the other.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) includes herbs (Zhōngyào/ 中藥), acupuncture (zhēnjiǔ/ 針灸), massage (tuīná/ 推拿), and dietary therapy (shíliáo/ 食療). These therapies have been accepted by the general population in China for thousands of years. However, in the United States, many Chinese herbs that are banned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because there have been reports that Chinese herbal products are contaminated with drugs, toxins, heavy metals or not containing the listed ingredients. In addition, some herbs used in Chinese medicine can be interacted with drugs, have serious side effects, or are unsafe for people with certain medical conditions.

Before the late 20th century, many people were skeptical about the thought of alternative medicine, because there was not much information or background behind alternatives. Until the benefits of these methods were supported, the alternatives were not practiced in the US. Acupuncture was developed by the Chinese, and its origins date back to almost 6000 years. The practice of acupuncture consists of stimulating or dispersing the flow of energy within the body by the insertion of dry needles into specific points on the surface of the skin. Acupuncture is a therapy used for the prevention of disease, and also the maintenance of health. (Chang)