Essay On Hispanic Comfort

In rural Iowa, there are few individuals who are knowledgeable of the Hispanic culture due to the small number of Hispanic individuals that have sought out care in the past. Recently, there has been an influx the number of Hispanic Americans seeking care in this area, making the delivery of culturally sensitive communication and care an important topic. According to DeNisco & Barker (2016), the nature of nursing care encompasses the need to be aware of cultural diversity (p. 581). Meaning that nurses need to strive for cultural competence to reach the societies expectations in the delivery of nursing care (DeNisco & Barker, 2016). We are going to take a look at how nurses can make a few changes that will make providing culturally competent care to the Hispanic population easier in these settings.

Growing up in a Latino household is hard. My parents only spoke Spanish therefore my first language was Spanish. For the first few years of my life this was not really a problem, I enjoyed life as any normal little girl would. I got to talk to all of my cousins and all of the neighbor’s children. It wasn’t until I got to school that it became real that I was going to learn English. Don’t get me wrong I always knew I had to learn English my parents always talked to me about school and helped me as much as they could. It was also around this same time where I started to understand that it was not only hard for me it was hard for them as well. My parents had to live in this country not knowing the main language spoken.

The Hispanic culture has different values, beliefs, and traditions. Family is highly value. Family is a close-knit group and the most important social group to gather in any events or special days. The Hispanic “family unit” includes not only parents and children but also grandparents and extended family. Individuals within the family have moral responsibilities to help other members of the family experiencing financial problems, unemployment, health conditions and any other life issues. They show the importance placed upon relationship within their family extending a hand in good times and bad. Respeto y dignidad (respect and dignity) are other important values of the Hispanic culture. Children’s are taught to avoid confrontations with parents and older persons, and to be obedient and respectful. The Hispanics believe that the father is head of the family and the mother is to take care of home. Naming children after grandparents and parents is fairly common. A well-known tradition is the celebration of a fifteen year old girl called Quincenera. Hispanics culture and traditions are based around celebrating and spending time with love ones.

“Wow...there is no way you’re Latino. You’re way too white!” was the ignorant remark made by a one of my peers during my school’s annual Latin-American Fest. Initially, hearing this claim made me look into the mirror. I began to stroke my face and examine my physical features. Was this true? Was I not Latino enough? Did the amount of melanin or lack thereof deem me as Latino?

These religious and spiritual influences play a major role in the Hispanics health, illness and daily life. In much a similar manner, the Native American Indian family adopts the cultural beliefs to associate with illness and health. They believe that a person’s state of exists when he or she exists in harmony with nature and sickness occurs when an imbalance between the natural or supernatural forces and the sick individual exists (Askim-Lovseth & Aldana, 2010). Traditional health believes and practices involving healing ceremonies and rituals restore balance when illness happens. “These can be conducted by their traditional medicine men or women, who are thought to have compelling powers, the ability to read minds, and know-how in concocting medicine, drugs and poisons.” For the white young family, the cultural belief of invincibility and youth are the driving force behind health prevention (Askim-Lovseth & Aldana, 2010). “Focus on the temporary is regularised, while thinking about health is assigned to an adult person where family accountabilities pertain.” Protecting against illness or disease does not feature into their daily lives. Disease or illness is something that is insubstantial and distant, and unimaginable to their young, resilient bodies and thus irrelevant (Edelman & Mandle, 2010).

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the culture and beliefs of four Hispanic groups. The groups I have chosen to cover are: Puerto Rican, Mexican, Dominican and Cuban. Included in the paper will be each group’s linguistic, social, economical, political, familial and religious ties or beliefs.

Approximately 1 in 6 individuals are Hispanic in the United States, and the population is expected to grow to 1 in 4 by 2035 (CDC, 2015). Given that, Hispanics are the biggest minority group in the US (CDC, 2015). The leading cause of death among the Hispanic population is heart disease and cancer responsible for around 2 out of 5 deaths (CDC, 2015). Hispanics have a 50% greater chance of death resulting from diabetes or liver disease than whites (CDC, 2015). Additionally, there are 3 times as more uninsured Hispanics than whites (CDC, 2015). According to the US average, whites are 15 years older than the Latino population, so prevention will greatly benefit the health of the Latino population (CDC, 2015).

When looking at the Hispanic/Latino ethnic groups some may think they are all from the same country because of their culture, and the fact that many speak Spanish. However, this is not the case, and when looking at the unique features associated with each ethnic group, it is easy to see the differences between them. All of the Latino/Hispanic ethnic groups have differences and this can even be heard in the dialect used to speak Spanish, such as the case when listening to Puerto Ricans and Mexicans speaking Spanish. In an effort to have a better understanding of elder Mexicans, this paper will look at the Mexican sub-culture, and the features associated with the family dynamics, gender roles, acculturation patters, as well as religious contemporary issues such as taking care of an elder family member. We will examine ways to engage, assess, discuss ways of intervention, and review ways to ensure that effective evaluations are completed.

Latinos have a strong culture, as well as a religious culture. Some believe many problems may be fixed with prayer as well as with traditional healers (Alegria et al. 2008a; Berenzon-Gorn 2006; Espin 1987 as cited in Lorenzo-Blanco, & Delva, 2012). They have a lot of faith in religious ceremonies and home remedies before seeking professional help. Latinos seek help with family members before anyone professional (Bermúdez, Kirkpatrick, Hecker, & Torres-Robles, 2010). Latinos most of the time have a big family size, and are always really close. Seeking help with family members, they believe will be more help if the family member has had a similar situation, and they believe their advice can help. Although Latinos don’t always seek professional help, they prefer family therapy (Szapocznik et al. 1989 as cited in Bermúdez, Kirkpatrick, Hecker, & Torres-Robles, 2010). Some prefer to work out their issue together as a family. Overall, when Latinos ask for help, they go to priests, psychiatrists, counselor, and therapists (Bermúdez, Kirkpatrick, Hecker, & Torres-Robles, 2010).

Mexican, Filipino, and Thai these are just a few of the diverse cultures in this group. To begin with, some interesting aspects of the Mexican culture is that the primary language of the culture is Spanish, the primary religion is Catholicism, and in Mexico one of the popular celebrations are The Day of the Dead. To begin with the primary language of the Mexican culture is Spanish. Approximately 92.7 percent of the Mexican population Speaks spanish. The lesser used dialects in Mexico include such as Mayan, and Nahuatl. Another interesting aspect of the Mexican culture is the primary religion is Catholicism. 82% of the Mexican population identifies as Catholic. There are also very few Muslims, Jews, and Buddhists. Last but not least, Day of the dead is celebrated in Mexico. It is celebrated on November 2. This day is set aside to remember and honor those who died.

In the Hispanic culture health care is most commonly sought only after symptoms appear. In many cases only when those symptoms cause the individual’s incapacitation. Working through discomfort is considered the norm, dwelling on discomfort or mild pain is seen as weakness and seeking medical attention when not ill, such as preventive care, is almost unheard of.

Hispanics are the fastest growing minority in the United States, and the majority of them are Mexican in origin (Kemp, 2001). The Roman Catholic Church plays a vital role in the culture and daily life of many Mexican Americans. Consequently, healthcare personnel must become culturally competent in dealing with the different beliefs possessed by these individuals. Nurses must have the knowledge and skills necessary to deliver care that is congruent with the patient’s cultural beliefs and practices (Kearney-Nunnery, 2010). The ways that a nurse cares for a Mexican American patient during the process of dying or at the critical time of death is especially important. The purpose of this paper is to examine

Death is inevitable at some point everyone must face it. Whether it is the death of a family member, friend, or a family pet, people are forced to deal with the death. Nurses however have more frequent encounters with death than the average person does. When a patient dies in a healthcare setting his or her nurse is obligated to deal with that as well. They must find ways to cope with the increased amount of death that

When defining what it means to be Hispanic and how it has influenced my life, it means more than just having the family origins beginning from one the Spanish speaking countries. In my experience, Hispanic are usually people who are very conscientious about work, are traditionalist, passionate, and incredibly family oriented. Spending my summer and winter breaks traveling in Mexico, it a fulfilling opportunity to reunite with my family and about learn about my bygone family lineage.

I chose this article because I find it interesting and of great help to any nursing and health care professional; I am Hispanic myself and constantly looking for better ways to help my community. I personally see my grandmother struggling whenever she needs to see her physician, as she sometimes does not understand what him and his staff are telling her. On another note nursing is an ever changing career and the Hispanic culture is growing at an enormous rate, becoming culturally competent does not only provide the patient with good care but can make the nurses’ job easier and more rewarding. I do feel that there should be more research on this subject; the best way to learn about a patient’s cultural beliefs is to ask the patient. I think that the population that the author intended to target is health care professionals; however, I know that any immigrant can benefit from reading this article.