Social And Cultural Barriers In The Healthcare Field

Health care each day we are faced with new challenges and the decision essentially falls on administrators to strategies and address these issues and in order to continue to provide sufficient care for patients. As health care administrators it is important that we find ways to identify ways to help patient understand their medical care. Therefore, health care administrator is involved with almost every aspect of running the facility efficiently, effectively, and productively and ensuring delivery of quality healthcare by providers. One of the biggest challenges that arise the most is language barrier. Language barrier is a major problem in the medical field, this is will lead to patient lack of understanding. Pateron & Taylor (2013), “Language

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)

an American Indian male with diabetes who receives care at a non-tribal clinic. He reports that he does not feel much of a connection with his provider or his clinic, and says that he feels misunderstood when he tells his provider about his traditional healing practices.  He struggles to remember to take his medications and sometimes does not take them because he feels that they don’t work.

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

Some practical obstacles that hinder the delivery of proficient and economical services include differences in language, cultural and knowledge of health issues. However, the prudent advanced practice nurse (APN) considers these obstacles to communication when providing patient-centered care. Nevertheless, when language barriers are not addressed, the provision of quality care to patient and families are undermined, which then transcends to both economic and ethical dilemmas. According to the centers for disease control and prevention (CDC, 2016), the gateway to healthcare is often hindered to a great extent by the lack of the ability to communicate medical necessities due to language barrier. In any clinical setting, efficient patient communication is essential in the delivery and accessibility of quality care and safety.

The purpose of effective communication in healthcare is to provide first-class medical care, minimal to no medical errors and have precision; and without it there is room for medical errors, poor patient care and an ineffective team that produces undesired outcome. In the professional and patient relationship, the lack of good communication causes the patient to be apprehensive in asking questions, to worry about being bothersome because they feel other patients are sicker, and there is an assumption that the patient does not have any concerns. There are barriers to communication that include only one between the sender and receiver of the message understands the message, cultural differences, and lack of education. In sending the message it is essential that the message is received with clarity, it is concise and complete. If the patient has a language barrier, it can be masked by the patient not responding to information and it is detected as a result of poor or no compliance. In literacy concerns, all information should be presented on a 5th grade level to aid in the comprehension of the information. The care of the patient should be patient/family centered which helps in detecting any language, cultural or literacy barriers (Schyve, 2007). For example, a 46 year old single male patient that is functionally literate is admitted with a diagnosis of acute angina. During the

Communication is a basic, root function of living. Communication happens with words, without words, using symbols, gestures, sounds, and drawings. Sometimes getting the idea across to the receiver of the communication is a difficult task when there are communication barriers such as different languages, cognitive ability, and disability. Communication is an essential tool that needs constant use and refinement to be effective for the user and receiver. In this paper, the basic elements of communication, health care communication, consumer communication, and cultural differences in communication will be the topics of discussion.

Effective communication is a two-way process of not only relaying the correct information but receiving and understanding the correct information (Tay, Ang, & Hegney, 2012). The number of persons with limited English proficiency (LEP) in the United States has increased by 80% in the past 16 years accounting for 25.2 million people or 9% of the total population (Gil, Hooke, & Niess, 2016). This presents a communication challenge for the healthcare provider when the LEP patient presents for medical care. Communication barriers can interfere

The purpose of this paper is to share research information of health care organizations who are experiencing issues with Cultural Diversity. The information shared will help to support health care systems as they continuously work towards reducing health care disparities. While they continue their efforts to decrease diversity in health care governance and leadership. According to recent studies, the Institute for Diversity in Health Management, an affiliate of the American Hospital Association, found that there is about 81 percent of hospitals educated. Studies also found that all

Cultural differences can cause emotional distress among patients and healthcare providers. Effective communication is important in treating patients and promoting their fast recovery. I learned that when two people of different cultures communicate, sometimes a lot of misunderstandings can occur because of the difference in experiences and expectations. As a nurse, I will learn to develop approaches that allow me to recognize and respect the culture of patients from different

I enjoyed reading your insights on some of the cultural aspects that influence the healthcare perceptions of the Hispanic population. I also chose this ethnic group for my discussion so it was interesting to see the information that you found. For Ohio nurses, I think it’s essential to learn about these influences because statistics show that the Hispanic population is growing in every county except for one. Immigration is playing a part but the main increase is coming from the birth rate of children of first-generation immigrants. They are becoming adults and are having their own children, which is boosting the overall population.

This may affect patients' ability to read and understand instructions on medicine bottles, health educational materials, and insurance forms. For a culturally competent and diverse organization we must provide our patients the highest quality of care, regardless of their cultural background, ethnicity, race or level of literacy. (McCray, A. T.,2005)

Communication. Quite possibly one of the most important actions we use on a daily basis, both consciously and unconsciously. Over the last decade, though, communication, oddly enough, has become a rather serious issue when used in a workplace setting. This is especially true in the medical field. The reality is that hospitals are seeing a huge spike in communication-related issues with ethnic patients and even employees. Why? Why has one of the easiest actions for a person to learn and utilize suddenly become the hardest things for healthcare professionals to use? Geri-Ann Galanti provides the answer in her book “Caring for Patients from Different Cultures” by documenting an ICU nurse, David, who had transferred from the step-down unit to the

In this qualitative research, Cerimagic aims at determining whether a patient’s culture, language, and race affect the quality of the patient-doctor relationship and communication. The researcher used a secondary analysis methodology in order to conduct a systematic review of existing literature and past research findings. Thease recent and past researches produced the complications that resulted from cultural differences and its effects on health care provider-patient communication and relationships. The qualifications for sampling frame included studies in English language and those

The observation setting exhibited weaknesses related to oral exchange as there was high use of medical jargon and lack of translations services. Individuals with poor literacy skills can be vulnerable to misunderstanding and forgetting health information (Roter, 2011). Medical jargon is a substantial contributor to patients’ confusion and lack of comprehension of health information (Roter, 2011). The physician and staff at this particular setting used complex medical terms with patients. For example, when interacting with my family member, whose primary language is not English, the physician used the terms reflux and endoscopy without further elaborating on the meaning of the terms. As individuals can feel humiliated or embarrassed due to low literacy levels, they can be unsatisfied with health visits and are less likely than their counterparts to make informed health decisions (Roter,