The patients with low health literacy have poor health outcomes including increased rates of hospitalization and reduced frequency of using preventive services, lack of health insurance, lack of knowledge about medical conditions and treatment, which these leading to increased healthcare costs. They also have problems to report their health status, and experience negative psychological effects.…
Many health care organizations are now calling for multicultural competent health care professionals. It is suggested cultural competence is as an ethical obligation and cross -cultural skills should be placed on a level of parity with other specialized skills (2009). Within each culture exists an incredible diversity of groups and subgroups (2011). Achieving a base of knowledge for each group creates a challenge.…
Mayer, G., & Villaire, M. (2007). Health literacy in primary care: A clinician 's guide. New York: Springer Pub.…
Indonesia has the wide number of citizen from 34 Provinces with different race, ethics, languange and beliefs. Those national heritage sometimes become an obstacle in order to deliver message situated in culture communication. For example, in case interaction from doctor to patient, when new doctor face the important problem on how to give te best service to the patient sometimes they found dificulties to deal with. According to that, the idea of ‘cultural competency’ offer the bridging system encounter the patient, health care provider and patient collaboration. Cultural competency define as the integrated action from system or professionals team and patients with behaviors, ethics and policies background to raise effective cooperation in…
Health care providers can overcome differing points of view regarding health promotion and disease prevention by valuing and respecting others choices and practices. Staying culturally educated will help to ease any doubts health care providers may have. According to Stanton, n.d.) “Differences in age or occupation, or whether a person is from a rural, suburban or urban background, may affect the expectations of nurses and their patients.” Unless a particular health regimen is harmful to the patient we must allow them to practice…
The importance of cultural competency when working with diverse populations in health care can affect a patients or clients overall health in a positive or negative way and also affect reputation of the doctor and the staff. In the article Cultural Competency: Values, Traditions and Effective Practices, by Carol Brannon she defines Cultural competency, as “the ability to understand and respond effectively to the cultural and linguistic needs of patients or clients”(p.2). Brannon also explains how the US is more of a “salad bowl” comparing it’s diversity to the unique ingredients of a salad rather than a “melting pot”, which demonstrates how people have different needs and requisite different kinds of treatment according to their cultures, beliefs, values, habits, etc. Being able to communicate in a positive manner and connect with patients can lead to healthier lifestyles, promote more positive attitudes towards diversity and develop policies that can benefit everyone.…
The presence of cultural competence in the health care system and what it means for the health of our diverse population, is something that should be part of the schooling for healthcare providers. Cultural Competence in the health care system is described as the ability to tend to the needs of patients through understanding their linguistic and cultural differences. Our vast, diverse population in the United States makes cultural competence in health care imperative. Without it, we cannot provide other cultures with the effective and comforting health care they need and deserve. In order for culturally diverse people to receive the proper health care they need, health care practitioners must be well versed in other cultures. Their ability…
People have diverse beliefs about health, illness, disease, birth and death, which are directed by culture. Heritage assessment is an important step towards building understanding of cultural competency, a phenomenon that recognizes diversity, both in linguistic and cultural adeptness by the health care provider. A person’s culture, beliefs, heritage, and language have a substantial impact both as a patient and a health care provider within the health care system (Spector, 2009). Although only 29 questions were supplied in the heritage assessment tool, the questions cleared a pathway for opening up dialogue about ones beliefs regarding health, illness, spirituality, and family support, which linked personal values to them. In this paper diversity was identified as a key component between the three ethnic groups compared, which were American with subgroups of Irish/German, Hispanic, and Filipino…
New York City is rich with culture and tradition from around the world. Some of the major challenges I expect to face from working in this environment are the potential cultural divides that can exist between the patient and physician. Language barriers and societal disparities are among some examples that I expect to come across. The ability to be willing to view your patient as an individual, with their own customs and outlooks, forms a large role in building trust between the patient and provider. Though at times cultural differences can be detrimental in providing optimal care to the patient, the right mindset can significantly improve patient-physician cooperation. My multicultural heritage has given me the unique opportunity to interact empathetically with people from various cultural backgrounds.…
Healthcare is an area where cultural can play a major role in the overall health and wellness of an individual. Providers need to be sensitive to the patient’s traditional ways of medicine while combined with the traditional western method of medicine. Healthcare professionals also need to be aware of the plethora of languages and dialects that are now part of the American population as well as religious beliefs. Barker (2009) identifies these factors to prevent bias or stereotyping of the patient. Nurses are patient advocates and to ensure that the patient needs are being met, this group will need to utilize their skills to bridge that gap between cultural competence and cultural conflict. For nurses to be able to effectively do this there needs to be…
There is a growing community of immigrants and refugees in Colorado from countries in Africa, so there is growing need for basic awareness among health care professionals about the backgrounds of these patients and families.The continent of Africa speaks hundreds of languages and if dialects spoken by various ethnic groups are also included, the number is much higher. Not all of these languages and dialects have the same importance: some are spoken by only a few hundred persons while others are spoken by millions. In some African cultures certain meanings to words change. This can heavily affect communication between healthcare professionals and others that come from Africa. Not only do healthcare professionals need to be sensitive to language…
Cultural competence in health care is the ability of providers and health care systems to integrate and deliver highest quality of care regardless of race and culture background. Individual values about health are shaped by their race and socioeconomic status. In order to improve patient and provider interactions they should recruit minority staff, training on cultural awareness, and knowledge about different cultures in their geographic area. These changes will take time but it will build patient trust with their provider and promote high quality health care.…
Cultural competence in health care combines the beliefs of patient centered care with an understanding of the social and cultural influences that affect the quality of medical services and treatment. With the ever increasing diversity of the population of the United States and strong evidence of racial and ethnic disparities in health care, it is critically important that health care professionals are educated specifically to address issues of culture in an effective manner. Organizations such as the National Academies of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine and the American Medical Association have recognized this.” (OMH - Ofiice of Minority Health)…
References: Chang, M., & Kelly, A. (2007). Patient Education: Addressing Cultural Diversity and Health Literacy Issues. 27(5), 411-417. Retrieved from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/564667…
The world is different in many ways and one of the ways is the difference in culture. For instance in Malawi young women get AIDS more prevalently than men because they are not allowed to ask for the use of protection (Hawthorne, 2003). A set of practices, rules, and beliefs and practices that are shared by a group of people is referred to as being culture. The assumptions in some cultures prove how some members of that culture should act, how different actions and events should be interpreted, and what the roles of theses members should be. All around the world countries have their view on health whether it is good health or bad health and how it should be dealt with. The different views on illness and health have a profound affect on health communication. One of the reasons why there are so many different views is because of the many religious views of the cultures along with the resources available. There are many poor countries in the world and they might not have the technologies or the assets to do things that a country that is more developed may do.…