Healthcare Intercultural Communication Analysis

Cultural competency aids in closing the “disparities gap” in health care. ("OMH," 2012, para. 2) In doing so, health professionals and their clients are better able to discuss concerns without cultural differences getting in the way of effective communication and problem solving. Being respectful of and sensitive to the client’s health beliefs, culture, values, and diverse needs can bring positive outcomes within treatment and patient care. After all, is it not the main job of the health care provider to ensure patient trust? Open forms of communication when dealing with client issues can only be provided if the patient is comfortable with his provider and believes his

The field of cross-cultural care mainly focuses on the ability to communicate in an effective way so that proper health care is provided to patients with from diverse sociocultural backgrounds. Unfortunately, there is no empirical literature comparing the effectiveness of different models of cross-cultural care and communication. However, there is a strong empirical evidence which shows that educating health care clinicians in cross-culture care can significantly improve skills, knowledge and attitude. (9, 10)

The Purnell Model for Cultural Competence places communication as one of the dominants (Purnell, 2002). Speaking the language of the patients would be the best tool that healthcare worker can use. It helps avoid many misunderstanding that may arise.

The five following questions are a great way to discuss today’s communication in the health care field; this paper will give a better explanation on what therapeutic communications are, cultural blindness as well as cultural competence, and identifying cultural backgrounds. Working in the health care field we use these very few things every day without even realizing it. It is important that health care professionals have a clear understanding about these concepts to provide the proper care to patients.

This form of communication allows physicians to better grasp certain cultural disparities and more effectively treat patients. (Commonwealth fund June 2009)

I am a Brazilian black male with military experience and diplomatic knowledge who grew up in a low-income household in a developing country. In addition, I have traveled to about 35 countries and am acquainted with people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, religions, ethnic groups and nationalities. These characteristics and experiences allow me to see the world from perspectives that are unusual for most people. Besides being open-minded and non- judgemental toward all my future patients, I personally understand the difficulties faced by people of color, immigrants and individuals from low-income families. In sum, my background and my cultural literacy will allow me to be a sensitive and culturally aware patient-centered care.

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.

In nursing school, we are normally taught that we should respect the dignity and rights of all clients. As the "world becomes reduced" and societies and individuals become more mobile, we are progressively able to network with people that are from other cultures. Cultural respect and competence for others becomes particularly significant for us as nurses and patient supporters. Applying the principles and theories of communication is important for sufficient patient care. A lot of various communication methods are executed and have diverse focuses. Small groups use mechanisms such as objectives, standards, cohesiveness, behaviors, and therapeutic issues. Duty, process and midrange groups are separate categories. Orientation, tension, cohesion, working and dissolution are stages groups go through. Successful personal and professional communication profits the patients and other health professionals; however, the lack of applicable communication can lead to poor patient results and a hostile and fruitless work setting (Doane, 2004). However, the cultural group targeted in this paper is the Native Americans because this group has become a challenge for public health nurses.

In my point of view, there are three important themes from the story. Firstly, the communication is essential and important in healthcare settings. As we all know, the language barrier is the main problem to be solved when interacting with another culture. In other words, communication is a two-way interaction. Only people can understand each other, the conversation and consultation could start. To be specific, in health care settings, communication is the key to grasping the health condition of patients, know the patients’ need, as a result, provide the most suitable and best care plan for

A vital foundation for a high-quality care delivery is an efficacious communication between the patient and the healthcare providers (Gengler & Jarrell, 2015). Fadiman (1997) recounted the conflict between a refugee family from Laos and a small hospital in California over the care of Lia Lee, a Hmong girl with severe epilepsy, in her book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Despite both sides wanting the best care for Lia, the lack of cross-cultural communication between her Hmong family and her American doctors, lead to her tragedy (Fadiman, 1997). Awareness regarding the disparities in culture and language of our patient with ours and how to address them should be taken into account when providing healthcare since the life of a

In a culture as diverse as the United States it is of utmost importance that individuals in settings such as the health care field learn to communicate with people from different cultures. This type of setting offers many chances for misunderstanding, miscommunication, and mistrust. It is imperative for the health care field to have an effective strategy to minimize these negative consequences of poor intercultural communication. One must also remember when implementing a communication strategy that there are many elements that effect the experience; cultural variations, personal dignity, and interpersonal relationships. An effective intercultural

Miscommunication, medication errors, and lack of compliance commonly occur in the healthcare field. These are just a few of the errors that occur due to the patient being from a different culture than the physician or healthcare worker. Those three errors alone have a huge impact on our healthcare today. If we could have a better understanding of other cultures that are different from our own we could have a dramatic decrease in errors and a great increase in healthcare participation. Training must be completed and must be done in more than one way. The first step is to make sure that all physicians and health care workers get the same nationwide training that focuses on improving cultural competence. How this is completed must be done in more than one way (Horwitz, 2001).

Cultural diversity in the medical field is, at times, greatly hindered because of religious beliefs, language barriers, and the hierarchies of diverse cultures and these have the propensity to affect the continuity of care for the patients. “Every person has different aspects that constitute their identities, according to how they see themselves….This means that seeing an individual in terms of

Hickling, F.W. (2012). Understanding Patients in Multicultural Settings: A Personal Reflection on Ethnicity and Culture in Clinical Practice. Ethnicity & Health, 17(1/2), 203-216. Doi:10. 1080/ 13557858.2012 655266. Retrieved from: Ashford University Library

Cultural expectations are embedded in the practice settings and client perceptions of what constitutes good therapy. The client’s beliefs of their illness and role the therapist plays in helping them recover aids in the intervention process. One barrier many consumers face in today’s society is communication. Speech, body language, and behavior misunderstandings are common among people who speak the same language, but people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds face communication barriers which can lead to misunderstandings in the handling of their health care. Consumers are advised to learn about the cultural barrier in hospitals, workplace, schools and etc., to effectively communicate across cultures.