Pakeh Appropriate Body Language

It’s not only how we speak to people but it can also be reflected through our body language. We have to bear in mind that other people’s cultures may find some gestures offensive to them. Being respectful to their beliefs and cultures is important in maintaining positive relations. A raise of an eye brow or shrug of the shoulder can send the

Then, I touched her shoulder, kept saying, and raise my tone a bit because I was afraid if she had a hearing trouble. I was reassuring her she will be fine. In the meantime, I was thinking whether the English language was not her mother tongue but I kept myself communicate verbally with her including using my body gesturers and facial expression. Body gesturers and facial expressions are referred as a non-verbal communication (Funnell et al, 2005, p.443). I thought of the language barrier that breaks our verbal communication. Castledine (2002, p.923) mention that the language barrier arises when there are individuals comes from a different social background use their own slang or phrases in the conversations. Luckily, those particular body gesturers could make her understand that I was going to assess her. During the assessment I maintained the eye contact as I do not want her to feel shy. This is supported by Caris-Verhallen et al (1999) which mentioned that the direct of eye contact could express a sense of interest in the person to the other person involves in that communication. As a result, she gave a good cooperation and was very happy for the assessment until finished.

First of all, I was curious about the Middle East Man reaction when you were trying to shake his hands. I was wondering if he was acceptable and respectable of your own values as you respected his. I find it daunting and difficult to communicate or to get my messages through when my patients do not even recognize the existence of culture.   

Health care providers need to be culturally competent and aware of the assumptions that their own culture makes in order to effectively provide health care services with cultural sensitivity. What we deem appropriate, may cause extreme discomfort for some and we often make these assumptions unknowingly. Effective and culturally appropriate communication is the first step in achieving equity of access to health care. Non-verbal cues such as hand gestures, eye contact, smiling and other mannerisms differ between cultures and often affect how successful your health care interaction will be. (Fanany, R. 2012, p.232)

Many people have seen the increase of immigrants coming to the United States. “Census 2000 measured a U.S. population of 281.4 million, including 1.2 million who reported and Arab ancestry” (de la Cruz and Brittingham, 2000). Arab Americans are those people who speak or are descendents of Arabic-speaking populations. As doctors and caregivers continue to provide care to those that speak English, communication between them is easy. But when this simple task is changed when there is a patient from a different culture, it produces challenges that both parties have to overcome. Doctors and caregivers have to increase their cultural awareness and sensitivity so that there is a good

in health and social care setting non-threatening use of body language is a non- verbal communication because it sends message to another person without any threat. non- threatening use of body highlights how someone is feeling or what they are thinking about.you might use non-threatning use of body if your mad or angry at someone if you use non-threatning use of body then the person will know how angry you are.this will stop communication in health and social care you are threaning and diswcriminating others

It is important to approach the patient in the appropriate manner to prevent jeopardizing the nurse-patient relationship. The first step a nurse should take is to eliminate any communication barriers. Most Arabs can speak fluent English, but it may be necessary in some cases to facilitate an Arabic interpreter. The nurse should then document the interpreter as an intervention in the patient’s chart (Khalifa, 2012). In the case of the patient not speaking fluent English, the nurse should be aware of nonverbal cues and implement strategies to successfully

When culturally competent nurses interact with other cultures, they observe how members of the culture communicate, watching for verbal and non-verbal cues. Eye contact is important to identify. For some cultures direct eye contact is not polite. Touch for some cultures is prohibited. If needed, nurses should explain the reason for touching the patient before proceeding. In some cultures males cannot be caregivers of females. Silence doesn’t always mean miscommunication or patient apathy. For some cultures is a positive non-verbal cue or a sign of respect or agreement. Space and distance is very important when providing care. Patients can place themselves close or far from the nurse based on their culture. Healthcare beliefs also vary from cultures. Some cultures are compliant with cares while others may not be very cooperative. Based on these observations, nurses can plan their plan of care based on the patient’s needs (Maier-Lorentz, 2008 Journal Of Cultural Diversity). Nurses also need to observe pain non-verbal cues, food preferences, family arrangements and general norms and interactions.

Sometimes, some people are not able to communicate verbally, may be due to lack of confidence or they don’t know the language. That is why it is very important to observe their facial and body reaction so that any problems could be identified and dealt with. It is also important to observe an individual’s reaction in order to make sure the information has been understood so that you know whether you need to adjust your communication methods. You can also recognise any communication barriers such as language

Any instance where the client feels like they are being looked down upon, rapport will weaken and they may not seek your assistance in the future. The use of diagrams in conjunction with plain English will assist in clarifying the message you are trying to send and the ease of understanding will also increase. It is important that, as a health professional, the patient understands any information (especially instructions) you give them. In Aboriginal culture, it is common for the family to accompany the patient, therefore explain it to the family as well so information and instructions are understood (Queensland Health, n.d). Being aware of how language conventions are used is helpful in overcoming any language barriers with the patient. Questions, for example, in English are usually direct with a raised intonation at the end. With some indigenous languages, questions are rarely asked directly or contain a suffix at the end of a word. (Taylor. K, Guerin, P., 2014). Avoiding leading questions may help with communication as in many instances, Aboriginal people may not firmly express their opinion even though they may have one. Often, they will use others to put their ideas

A beneficial way of avoiding this is the use of verbal encouragers. According to Hazelwood & Shakespear-Finch (2011) “Hhmm”, “Aahh”, “Right”, “Oohh”, “Okay”, “Aha” or “Mmhm” are just some of the short phrases or words a practitioner may say to confirm they are listening to their client. With the occasional use of these verbal encouragers, it sidesteps any unnecessary confusion that may hinder the client practitioner relationship. Non-verbal encouragers can also make it easier for people to speak. Simple eye contact, nods, smiles and facial expressions can leave people feeling relaxed and more willing you talk (Dawn, 2002). In situations where there are cultural differences verbal and non-verbal encouragers are not as positive. Take for example a client who is an Aboriginal Elder and the practitioner who is a young Caucasian Social Worker that was unaware of Aboriginal cultural protocols and etiquette. In Western culture it is respectful and a sign of active listening to look a person in the eye the whole time you are conversing with them. However for Aboriginals it is complete reverse, when you don’t look straight into an Aboriginal person’s eyes you are showing them that you respect them. Situations such as these can make both parties feel uncomfortable (Laguerre, Shanahan, & Ferguson, 2014).

It is very important to be cognizant of different cultures and to use transcultural communication when caring for patients of diverse cultures. Every individual has a different pain tolerance and people from different cultures deal with pain differently. Some barriers to communicating with people from different cultures who are in pain may be not understanding the patient’s language. If that is the case it would be wise to get the assistance of a professional interpreter. Due to how individuals with different cultures deal with pain, the approach that one might take with one culture may be different than with another. According to Luckman different cultures express pain differently (p.230). It is important to listen to the patient and see how

A second culture that a medical professional should be aware of is the Vietnamese, handshakes are appropriate between men not women (Culture Clues, 2001). They also believe that the head is the most sacred part of the body, so avoid touching it unless necessary. To show respect to the patient someone would avoid direct eye contact and bow the head because it shows that the individual is not being disrespected (Giger and Davidhizas, 2008). The patient’s norms are always something to remember so the beliefs are not offended. By having awareness on beliefs it will also help to get a grasp on what the religion traditions in healing.

Chapter two gives a literature review; including the definition of body language; the importance of body language;

Burmese are usually extremely polite and modest, and they often do not express their feelings. This can sometimes lead to misunderstandings between healthcare providers and Burmese patients. There may be some language barriers, so doctors and nurses should get an interpreter. Body language is very important to the Burmese. Pointing a finger at someone is considered very rude, as is sitting higher than an elder. These are only the basics of the Burmese culture; there are many more things that healthcare providers should know about this ethnic group (Background, 2016).