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Culture Heritage Assessment

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Culture, Heritage & Health
Culture & Cultural Competency in Health Promotion

Culture, Heritage & Health
This paper will discuss culture and the cultural characteristics that can be associated with various groups and the affect it can have on one’s health in aspects of health protection, maintenance and restoration. It will also discuss the usefulness of a heritage assessment tool in providing better care for patients. The differences will be viewed based on culture in health protection, maintenance and restoration.
A heritage assessment tool is a means to capture a snapshot view of one’s culture/heritage. Culture is defined as “an element of ethnicity, consists of shared patterns of values and behaviors that …show more content…

Sadly, I don’t think this is in homage to my ancestors so much as my father’s military career which had us stationed in the Netherlands for four years. In doing research on European Americans for this paper, I find that I am not unique in my lack of culture. “European-Americans have never experienced a truly cohesive experience. Instead of one culture and people . . . Caucasian America is simply a loosely associated series of subcultures and non-cultures.” (Stratis Health Culture Care Connection, 2013). Western medicine is favored by this group of people, though there is a surge in the interest of incorporating other beliefs in as well through acupuncture, herbs, massage therapy, etc. Typically our diets consist of the all American diet, one that is high in red meat, salty foods, processed foods, sugary desserts, and often alcohol. European Americans believe in regular screenings for high blood pressure, yearly exams, preventative healthcare in the means of vaccinations & flu shots. The leading causes of death among this culture are heart disease, cancer, obesity, hypertension, diabetes and stroke among some of the top causes. What these diseases have in common is that you can decrease the probability of death, or even absence from the disease, with good healthcare prevention in changing diet, increasing activity and avoiding high risk behavior (such as smoking). (Center for Disease Control and Prevention,

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