Cultural Competency, Social, Emotional Practices And Attitudes Towards Health And Western Medicine

The article summarises a new programme that will be given to newborn babies against meningitis B. Meningitis is an infection of the membrane which surrounds the brain and spinal cord. This can affect anyone but young children are more vulnerable to the infection. Some symptoms that have been shown from the infection are high fever with cold hands and feet, agitation, misperception, sickness and headaches.

Bacterial meningitis is the swelling of the meninges. In the back of the brain, there are three protective membranes called the meninges (Mandal). During bacterial meningitis, bacteria invade the brain. This causes the immune system to enter and try to stop the disease (Mandal). In doing so, the meninges swell to stop the spread the virus, but this unfortunately causes damage to the brain and spinal area (Mandal). A person would get bacterial meningitis if their body was invaded by some of the germs that can cause it.

Cultural Competency can be described as one’s ability to learn about cultures other than their own. It speaks to the value one places on diversity and their desire to foster an open exchange of ideas between dissimilar cultures. While in a perfect world, cultural competency would be of heightened importance in all aspects of life, there are certain industries where cultural competency factor more heavily; one of those being health care. This is especially true in areas with increased diversities of cultures, ethnic groups and a variety of languages.

Cultural Competency, widely known as the ability to understand the differences between cultures and how one can assess and effectively respond to each patient’s cultural diversity. Cultural competency is something that can be applied far and wide to many different professions, but its importance is strongly present in the healthcare industry.

The importance of Cultural Competency when working with a diverse population within health care is extremely important. It’s a major part of health providers jobs to be respectful and mindful of their patients culture and or background. The health provider should acknowledge the patients beliefs, traditions and religion to be sure the patient is as comfortable as she or she can possibly be. After all the patient is seeking help because he or she is not feeling well or needs some sort of medical attention, so of course it should be the health providers best interest to not but more stress on the patient or make them more uncomfortable then what they already are. There can be a few pitfalls if a health provider completely ignores the patient’s

Meningitis is a serious infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It is caused by meningococcal disease, which is contracted by 1,000 to 2,600 people yearly in the United States. Meningococcal disease is also serious, with one in ten cases leading to

     In 1887, the causative agent Neisseria Meningitidis, the meningococcus, was identified. Because of its potential to cause epidemics, Neisseria Meningitidis is one of the most important types. In 1805, when Meningococcal disease was first described, an outbreak swept through Geneva, Switzerland. Twelve subtypes of Neisseria Meningitidis have been identified. Four of them have been recognized to cause epidemics. Those four are: A, B, C, and W135. The capabilities differ of the pathogenicity, immunogenicity, and

Some bacteria that cause meningitis can also cause septicaemia. Septicaemia is caused by bacteria multiplying in the bloodstream. The bacteria release toxins that damage the walls of the blood vessels, causing them to leak. The immune system is unable to counteract these toxins.

Bacterial Meningitis affects the nervous system by causing inflammation of a trio of membranes known as the Meninges that are situated around the brain and spinal cord. It 's a disease that is slowly but surely being defeated worldwide with mortality rates falling from 464,000 deaths in 1990 to 303,000 in 2013[3]. Common symptoms throughout the period of an infection include; headaches, vomiting, fever, neck stiffness and an altered mental state. The severity of symptoms can depend on the species of bacteria that caused the infection. Due to recent medical advancements the rates of mortality have fallen considerably in the developed world, however meningitis is still prevalent in less economically developed countries. In this document I will be describing the various inner workings of the disease, but more specifically, it 's pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and preventative methods, furthermore I shall also be focusing more on the prevalence of the disease in the UK, as opposed to other locations. [1]

There are three types of pathogens that cause meningitis. The first type of pathogen is Haemophilus influenzae type b. It is an aerobic gram-negative bacteria, meaning they have relatively thin cell walls and can be resistant to antibiotic treatment. In 95% of invasive diseases are caused by type b. Before the introduction of a vaccine, it was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis most common in infants. The organism colonizes in the nasopharynx (the upper part of the throat behind the nose) and can sometimes invade the bloodstream and cause infection at a distant site.

Meningococcal Meningitis is the inflammation of the protective coverings of brain and spinal cord called the meninges. Meningococcal Meningitis is caused by the Neisseria meningitidis bacteria (Theobald, M, 2014). There are five forms of meningitis, bacterial being the most fatal. The other form types are viral, parasitic, fungal, and non-infectious. Meningococcal Meningitis can also be caused by other bacterium called Streptococcus pneumoniae, group B Streptococcus, Haemophilus influenzae, and, Listeria monocytogenes (CDC, 2016). Without any treatment of meningitis, it can spread into the blood and cause sepsis--when chemicals released into the bloodstream to fight the infection, trigger inflammatory responses throughout the body. This inflammation can trigger a cascade of changes that can damage multiple organ systems, causing them to fail (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2016). Meningitis is usually caused as a secondary infection when it makes its way into the central nervous

Infectious meningitis may be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, or toxins (McCance, 2014). There is a type of meningitis that does not have an identifiable pathogen; this type is called aseptic meningitis. Typical symptoms for meningitis are sudden high fever, severe headache, stiff neck, vomiting or nausea with headache, confusion or difficulty concentrating, seizures, sleepiness or difficulty waking up, sensitivity to light, lack of interest in drinking and eating, and skin rash (Mayo Clinic, 2013). There are three main types of meningitis, each having their own individual

Meningococcal meningitis: In Europe and the Americas, serogroups B and C are predominant while in Africa serogroups A and C are dominant; serogroup W-135 is pandemic and serogroup Y as the dominant strain of infection in the United States and Canada. There are 75-80% of patients acquiring this type of infection which is an infection of the brain and spinal cord with a mortality rate of 2-4%. Bacterial meningitis causes brain damage, hearing loss and learning disabilities to those that do survive. Meningococci shed their endotoxin, which damages tissues and activates the cytokine cascade (inflammation). This then allows them access to the subarachnoid space causing the blood-brain barrier to seep.

There are multiple different types of bacteria that can cause bacterial meningitis, which were discovered in the late 19th century. These bacteria’s are Streptococcus pneumonia, Streptococcus pneumonia, and Haemophilus influenza. (1) Russian physician Vladimir Kernig and Polish physician Jozef Brudzinski both separately found other symptoms of meningitis this leading to the Kernig’s sign and the Brudzinski sign.

Abstract: Background: The clinical distinction between acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) & viral meningitis is difficult in the acute phase of illness. Bacterial culture of Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is the gold-standard technique for confirmation but approx. 50% of cases are not confirmed. Antibiotics are often instituted before lumbar puncture, reducing the chance of a microbiological diagnosis. Objective: to evaluate the role & efficacy of CSF & serum Heparin-binding protein (HBP) in diagnosis of bacterial meningitis. Patients: 30 patients diagnosed with ABM, 30 diagnosed with patients with viral meningitis & 30 subjects with normal CSF examination findings (controls). Setting: Ministry of Health specialized hospital, Alexandria, Egypt Design & Measurements: Diagnosis was based on history, clinical criteria, CSF examination, latex agglutination & culture and sensitivities. HBP was measured using in both serum & CSF. Intervention: none. Results: CSF HBP levels averaged 0.82 ± 0.3 ng/mL in controls, 3.3 ± 1.7 ng/mL in viral meningitis & 174.8 ± 46.7 ng/mL in ABM. The mean serum HBP level was in the controls 0.84± 0.3 ng/mL in controls, 3.7 ± 1.9 ng/mL in viral meningitis & 192.2 ± 56.6 ng/mL in ABM.