The Hmong: Mistrust Western Medicine And Practices

Some of the Hmong beliefs are they prefer traditional medicine, are culturally active, host ritual ceremonies, and are spirituality influenced. In the book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, refers to the Hmong culture and their beliefs on medicine while their baby Lia Lee, is suffering from epilepsy in which they have a hard decision. Traditional Hmong’s have their own medicinal beliefs which they obey prior to obtaining Western medicine. The gulf between Western medicine and Hmong health beliefs

relationship of mistrust to form, lead to barriers in the plan of care, and increase health care cost. The current guidelines to promote cultural competence in the clinical setting include completing a cultural diversity self-assessment, identify the need of the population served, evaluate barriers in the community and practice, educate staff to cultural diversities, schedule longer appointments, clarify limitations, and identify alternatives offered (Cash & Glass, 2014). The Lees, a Hmong family, came

Down, the early Hmong settlers of California are observed to have certain issues with Western Medicine, resulting in a conflicted relationship between the Hmong community and the Merced Medical Center Merced (MCMC). Fadiman begins with introducing and explaining the Hmong culture and how their lifestyle differs from the West. Then, the story starts focusing around Lia, a Hmong baby born with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy. From here on, the Lees had constant mistrust with the medical

can cause the patient to mistrust and discount everything the doctor says. The only thing worse than a noncompliant patient is a seemingly compliant patient. Although the western medical system has proven to be effective in its precision and accuracy, it is only as effective as the patients that make up the system. The disconnect between the Hmong ethnomedical system and the American Western medical system has caused many problems at Merced Community Medical Center. The Hmong community has a history

“In the Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down”, Anne Fadiman explores the subject of cross cultural misunderstanding. This she effectively portrays using Lia, a Hmong, her medical history, the misunderstandings created by obstacles of communication, the religious background, the battle with modernized medical science and cultural anachronisms. Handling an epileptic child, in a strange land in a manner very unlike the shamanistic animism they were accustomed to, generated many problems for her parents

spiritual level. The Hmong have a belief that ancestral spirits, including the spirits of shamans are reincarnated into the same family tree. The Hmong’s believe in their Shaman more than western doctors. They prefer to perform their treatment by hosting their rituals to save and cure their sicknesses. Unfortunately, the major problem that Hmong refugees encounter upon arrival to this country is conflict with the US medical system. This conflict arises from misunderstanding and mistrust from both health

The book titled The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: Talks about a Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures written by Anne Fadiman. Anne Fadiman is an American essayist and reporter, who interests include literary journalism. She is a champion of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the Salon Book Award, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current Interest. In the book, Anne Fadiman explores the clash between a county hospital in California