Culturally Competent Health Care

For many years refugees have been demonized by the country through the spread of fear and misconception. Furthermore, the disgusting treatment of refugees in the detention camps by the Australian Government has been roundly criticised by the international community.

The resettlement of refugees in Australia is a controversial topic; many people believe that they come here to commit crime, change our culture and steal our jobs. ‘The Happiest Refugee’ has enhanced my belief that refugees should be allowed to live in Australia. I believe that refugees are here to escape war and persecution; they are not criminals, nor do they want to change our culture or steal our jobs. Refugees are generally grateful for their new lives in Australia and they embrace our culture. ‘The Happiest Refugee’ is a source of evidence that supports this.

Cultural competence in health care describes the ability to provide care to patients with diverse values, beliefs and behaviors, including tailoring health care delivery to meet patients’ social, cultural and linguistic needs. The need for healthcare systems to increase cultural competence and personalize care for ethnic patient minorities should not be ignored. Healthcare systems should promote better understanding and communication between diverse ethnic patients and caregivers. Hospitals should design a system that caters to the needs of all the populations they serve and not just apply a one-size-fits-all approach. Becoming a culturally competent health care organization is a critical component in reducing health care disparities.

Health Care System and Organization, it’s very important in the health organizations become culturally competent in many ways, such as Evidence Based Practice (EBP) which means using a clear care plan that are carefully designed for the patients, and are evidence based sources of research and clinical results, and patient preferences that are comforting the patient feels and creating connections, and trusting more about their health care provers, this reduces the personal practice of this how I do gap, because patients and providers are not same beliefs most of the time, so providers need to be open to new cultural encounters, and to practice culturally based health

The Interim Federal Health Plan of Canada [IFHP] sets out a guideline of specific healthcare costs that the government of Canada covers for refugees, protected persons and victims of human trafficking. The IFHP was implemented into Canada’s system in 1957, and was responsible for financing refugee health care in Canada until drastic changes to the program were implemented. When policies are implemented beyond the control of a vulnerable population such as the refugees, it is important we understand the implications of such changes and what that means for the health of the refugee population. The question stemming from this health issue is what can nursing leaders do to address the health inequities posed to the refugee

There have been correlations on the health of refugee arrivals and other migrants from developing countries. Having transitioned from camps for eighteen months, the family is at risk of developing or already having infectious diseases. The youngest child in the family being born on camp and in such harsh conditions, it is not rare that the child could have been in contact with a communicable disease. As a result of the social exclusion the family is facing, they are unable to be provided with efficient use of the heath resources that are available to other members of the community. Due to the stressful process of language and social difficulties, research suggests that whilst many migrants arrive in Australia with good health, their mental health tends to deteriorate after the first twelve months in the country (Anikeeva, Peng, Hiller, Roder & Han 2010). In Australia, approximately 93% of the population born overseas have been recorded as suicide deaths (Australia Bureau of Statistics (2012). Like any other refugee family, the Hakimi family will also have to overcome the health challenges they will face whilst settling into a new

What is cultural competence? When reading our book and looking at scholarly articles for me to sum up what I think cultural competence is, I found myself rereading each definition over and over. To me cultural competence is understanding that each person is unique and their care should be as well. Truong, Paradies, & Priest (2014) state “cultural competency is a broad concept used to describe a variety of interventions that aim to improve the accessibility and effectiveness of health care services for people from racial/ethnic minorities”. It is important for a healthcare worker to not stereotype a person based on their appearance or race. Not all people that appear alike believe in the same things. In their article Patient-centered care:

Cultural competence plays a significant role in health care delivery. There is a lack of cultural competence in the U.S. heath care. Despite current effort to deal with the issue, the problem still exist and many patients are suffering from it impact. Many people are not being able to get adequate care due to the lack of communication, languages, beliefs, values, perspective, and customs. Cultural competence barriers are critical in reducing health disparity. Those barriers include: lack of diversity in the healthcare settings, lack of system of care that can address the needs of various populations, inadequate communication between healthcare providers and patients of distinct ethnic, racial, language, belief, customs, religious, and cultural backgrounds.

Migrants in Australia include refugees. 13,178 visas were granted under the Australia’s Humanitarian Program in 2005, and 64% of them were under 25 years of age (Brown, 2008, pp 110-111). Formal Resettlement Program is operated by Australia for the refugees accepted into the country providing housing assistance, welfare payments and access to free English language courses (Brown, 2008, pp 110- 111). Some of the difficulties faced by the children include transition from home country fleeing war and living in refugee camps, difficulties in learning English and mainstream subjects due to language barrier and to adjust to a new educational system (Brown, 2008, p111). They also need to adjust to social conditions, physical disability, missing family

They defined a refugee as someone who ‘As a result of events occurring before 1 January 1951 and owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.’ ( Refugee Convention 1951 (Geneva) a 1). This definition excludes those who have left their country because of famine, environmental issues and the opportunity to have a better standard of living in another country. (Asylum seekers

a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.

Based on academic research, prior knowledge, and recent events with refugees, access to healthcare is a pertinent issue in the United States and Denmark with various similarities and differences. Both countries deal with similar barriers with accessing health services that are related to language, culture, and difficulty navigating the health and social systems of the host country (Szajna, 2014)

movement of refugees from the Middle East and parts of Asia, via Indonesia, into Australia.

“A person who has well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a certain group or political opinion, is outside the country of their nationality and is unable or owing to such fear is unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that country or who not having a nationality and being outside the country of their former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.” (United Nations High Commission for Refugees(UNCHR) 1951)

When settling into a new country, asylum seekers face many challenges and often prioritize their asylum claim or securing basic needs for their families over healthcare (Foley). This in itself acts as a barrier, in the words of one participant “ when I get my documents then I can go and take care of all my problems” (ASS). Civil society organizations, healthcare charities, and government services sometimes provide information to asylum seekers about their healthcare entitlements. Unfortunately, it is not always available. In one U.K review article, participants from multiple countries complained of a lack of appropriate health information, a lack of translated leaflets and lack of knowledge of health promotion and screening programs (Odo07), limiting their access to care