Heritage Assessment Case Study

Heritage Assessment

Applying a heritage assessment in evaluating the needs of the whole person is useful in many ways. They may assist nurses and healthcare professionals in understanding the social positioning of the diverse cultural groups for whom they deliver care. This will allow for care based on an individual’s cultural values, beliefs, and practices, and to use this knowledge to give culturally specific nursing care to each patient. Let’s take a look at and compare health maintenance, health protection, and health restoration of three families from different cultures. First let’s start by offering a little bit of background on each of our families. Miss Montejo is a single female who moved to the United States, along with her sister,
six years ago at the age of 19 years old from El Salvador. The Ping family consists of mom, dad, and two children who moved to the United States approximately twenty-one years ago from Shanghai, China. Finally, my family (the MacAllister’s) are Caucasian and consist of mom, dad, and one child and we have lived in the United States our entire lives. Health maintenance According to Word Press (n.d.),” Salvadorans have a prominent belief that God is the main power in control of their health and lives, irrespective of the implementation of any kind of medical treatment or intervention.” Miss Montejo practices Catholicism and has a strong faith in God, however, she does believe in modern western medicine. Miss Montejo has regularly scheduled check-ups with her physician as well as takes preventive measures to maintain her health. She eats well, exercises regularly and adheres to a routine sleep-wake pattern. This may not be typical of most individuals and families who migrate to the United States due to poverty, language barriers, fear of deportation, lack of medical insurance and education on modern western medicine. The Ping family, even after having spent most of their lives in China, do not adhere to the beliefs and traditions of their culture but use traditional western medicine practices. They are educated with well-paying jobs that supply health insurance for each of them. The entire family, just like Miss Montejo, see their physicians for regular check-ups and routine vaccinations. Remaining active and exercising regularly is seen as the best way to maintain their health. The MacAllister family members believe in modern western medicine and the importance of health maintenance by having routine check-ups, eating healthy, and keeping all vaccinations up to date.
Unfortunately, regular exercise and adequate sleep are poorly managed. With one family member working night shift and along with the busy schedules of the others, sleep and exercise remain overlooked. While all three family members are currently healthy and have a BSI within normal limits, the possibility of developing health issues is increased.
Health Protection Miss Montejo believes individuals must follow guidelines set forth by their physicians in order to maintain health. Healthcare providers are expected to have all of the answers and therefor she avoids questioning any providers. The evil eye is a look or excessive compliments (especially of a young child) that is perceived as being harmful to one’s health (Radford, 2013). With the “evil eye” being concerning to her culture she wears a special beaded necklace for protection from it. Excessive compliments of a child requires the person giving the compliments to touch the child to reverse the effects.
The Ping family heavily relies on healthcare providers to provide specific guidelines to aid in maintaining and protecting health. Healthcare providers are seen as the “all
knowing”.
The MacAllister family will seek out care for an illness or acute event only when they feel there are no other choices, not because they do not have trust in modern western medicine, but because of the thought that “it will go away on its own” or refusing to admit an illness is present. After seeking healthcare the MacAllister family reports that most times they do not follow medication regimens or other plans given to them. Behaviors like this make individuals susceptible to long term health issues and life threatening events. Health Restoration Miss Montejo, as we have mentioned, believes in modern western medicine.
She also believes in the use of rosaries, holy pictures and crucifixes, depending on the illness. These symbols are for praying and warding off evil spirits and restoring health. While this may not be widely accepted by all, it is important to respect her beliefs and allow her to practice them so long as it does not interfere with patient care or becomes detrimental to the patient.
The Ping family feels following the plan of care given to them by their healthcare team will restore their health. If healing does not occur, trust in the healthcare team begins to diminish and a new team is sought out. They feel restoring balance is essential.
After seeking medical care, the MacAllister family are optimistic the plan of care along with praying will restore health if it be God’s will. When a family member’s prognosis looks to be bleak their minister is called to the bedside. They believe God can perform a miracle and restore health even if health care providers say there are no more options as long as they hold on to
faith.
As you can see, there are many similarities and differences between cultures in respect to health maintenance, health protection and health restoration. Cultural diversity will only continue to evolve whether it be due to more immigrants entering the United States, more people having access to health care or blending of current culture. Because of that, performing a heritage assessment on every patient will allow health care team members to provide holistic and culturally sensitive care. In turn, patient satisfaction rates as well as adherence to treatment plans will also increase. We must advocate for every patient and ensure they receive the best care possible.

References:
Radford, B. (2013). The evil eye: meaning of the curse & protection against it. Live Science. http://www.livescience.com/40633-evil-eye.html Paz Amor El Salvador Just Another WordPress.com site. Retrieved from http://pazamorelsalvador.wordpress.com/traditional-beliefs-on-health-disease-and-disability/