Cultural Issues In Health Care

The barriers would be the family did not speak English nor did they have an education which would allow them to understand what exactly the doctors were talking about. Her family came here from Mexico by paying someone to smuggle them into the country to get their daughter the medical attention she needed (Burns, Bradley, & Weiner, 2011). The interpreter who was provided may not have had medical training or even understood what the providers were telling them to communicate with the family of the patient (Berry-Caban & Crespo, 2008). Some cultures such as Hispanics will not question authority out of respect for it so if her family disagreed with any of her care they would have not said anything to the doctors or nurses.

an American Indian male with diabetes who receives care at a non-tribal clinic. He reports that he does not feel much of a connection with his provider or his clinic, and says that he feels misunderstood when he tells his provider about his traditional healing practices.  He struggles to remember to take his medications and sometimes does not take them because he feels that they don’t work.

Culture has more than one definition. It can be defined as the language spoken throughout a group of people or even the beliefs practiced. In the professional field of nursing, nurses are required to do more than administer medication or change bandages on a patient. To be able to fulfill a nurse’s job requirements, a nurse must learn to be culturally competent. Cultural competency in the professional field of nursing means to care and respect the patient whether or not the health care provider is in agreement with the patient’s decisions.

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 is an important factor when working with patients in health care, however to be culturally competent, is to understand and communicate with your patient to feel cared for and understand that you’re there to help and not judge. Utilizing Cultural competency to your advantage to promote better results with patients that include, participation, learning, and higher attendance.

Cultural competency is important when caring for patients whose culture is different than yours. A person’s background, upbringing, and set of beliefs shape the way they interact with healthcare personnel, guide the way they ask for and receive help, and play a role in their understanding and approach to their health. It is important to understand where the patient is coming from so that they can get the most out of their health care experience and ultimately have “improved health outcomes” (Brannon 2009, p. 4). This concept is especially important nowadays not only because the demographics of the United States is continually changing, but also due to the fact that these diverse groups tend to “maintain their cultural uniqueness” as opposed

Cultural competency is secure, respectful, reciprocal relationships and partnerships, which respects for diversity and obey expectations and equity. In today’s society, cultural competency is quite important to the worldwide healthcare due to the cultural differences. In Melbourne, Australia, Monash Health is a community service in the local government area (LGA) of Monash. In order to demonstrate the features and importance of cultural competency, details of this community (Monash) are going to be described, for example, the main countries of birth, demographic composition, languages spoken and organizations and services. The cultural characteristics and cultural values of a prominent cultural community in Monash, the Chinese community,

One of the greatest things about nursing is that we have the opportunity to share with different cultures and learn about them. Our patients are complex; they each have their religion, culture, and life choices. Delivering health advice and not knowing much about a patient’s cultural background will influence how the patient may perceive the nurses’ advice. The article that I did my research on was published in 2011, by Perez-Avila, Sobralske and Katz; the name of the article is “No Comprendo: Practice Considerations When Caring for Latinos With Limited English Proficiency in the United States Health Care System”. In the United States, Hispanics form the largest minority. Most of this community has limited English

As health care providers, it is imperative to acknowledge the relationship between cultural awareness and delivery of appropriate care. The first step in creating cultural awareness may begin by the provider assessing their own cultural heritage, and it’s views on health and wellness.

Bias is the negative assessment of one group and its members, This may, for example, direct or more indirect expression. Present bias may threat patient- clinician communication, decrease efficiency of patient-health care providers’ relationships and increase distrust in health care settings (Blair, Steiner & Havranek, 2011).

Another recommendation is for Aspires’ staff to enable hope by showing respect for the client’s beliefs and values (Austerlic, 2009). Austerlic’s last recommendation is for staff to assist with facilitating healing in the client’s relationships and unfinished business to restore wholeness (2009). The majority of our client’s do not live with their paternal family members, rather they live with extended family, friends of family, or in the foster care system, giving extra importance to our staff recognizing this and using best practice to help the client’s either rebuild, heal, or build new relationships is essential. This is a perfect example of why Aspire stresses cultural competence to their staff. Cultural competence in program staff is

a system that encourages and supports a self-perpetuating alcohol-induced health issue where each generation produces another generation that is prone to alcohol abuse. Understanding the cultural context specific to each individual patient will help a healthcare provider understand the mechanisms and systems at play that support the alcoholic behaviors of the patient. As a result, this will help in the establishment and coming up with the best approach to address the health concern and the future of the patient in the community (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2009; Duran and Duran, 1995).

While existing in a different cultural may not directly define a level of health status, the intrapersonal differences within the culture could be considered important (Biddle, 2010).
With some cultures holding levels of connection to the land, this may cause certain communities to seclude themselves to a particular area, which effects the level of accessibility to health services. There are also apparent gaps between cultures in terms of employment, as the workplace is predominantly originated out of non-indigenous culture.
A lack of employment existing under indigenous cultures leads to less resources for the individuals to maintain health (Biddle, 2010).

That was an insightful analysis of how cultural differences can be an issue in providing the correct and appropriate medical care when bridging two distinct viewpoints of treatment. Your mention of deciding on keeping someone on life support or not is very powerful; I cannot imagine how that circumstance may feel. But I can see how this can be a conflict for the medical staff and on the patient’s family especially if they hold firm cultural beliefs. Such is the case of Hassan Rasouli, a man who was on vegetative state, where doctors believed it was time to keep him off life support. Hassan's wife refused “ citing the couple's Shia Muslim religion and a belief that her brain-damaged husband's movements indicate some level of minimal consciousness”(2013,

Southeast Community Hospital, SCH, is a 175- bed community hospital, which has not been able to perform unexceptional care and have been generating mediocre financial results in comparison to their competitors. Due to the inability to provide quality care, which is centered on the needs of the population, the newly appointed CEO decided to compose a strategic plan in order to guide SCH in the right direction for the next 5 years. During this planning four specific task forces were set as areas of focus: cardiovascular, cancer, women and children, and orthopedic/ neurology. The number one priority is to expand the basic cardiovascular services into a comprehensive cardiovascular program. In regards to internal assessment SCH have a solid set