Mariano Case Study

In today’s society people have different levels of education, social status, and religious backgrounds; being that the country is so diverse no one is going see the situations the same. In the case of Alejandro; the father, mother, and the provider all want the same outcome for Alejandro, but all have different resolutions for his asthma condition. In each culture families rely on traditional medicines, home remedies, or religious ways to treat their needs. The reason might be different on why one family might use home remedies and why the other uses traditional medicines. Respeto is a normative culture value that was used throughout the case of Alejandro. This is why there must be some kind of communication between the provider and patient
so they can achieve the goal. Senor Flores, Senora Flores and Dr.
Jean view this situation from totally different perspectives in the case of Alejandro. During the visit to the clinic Dr. Jean wonders why Alejandro is not making visits for the asthma problem and thinks Senor Flores mean attitude is because of his Hispanic background and he is “too macho to listen to a woman doctor”. Senor Flores has to choose between providing income for his family, missing work, and why the clinic is creating more problems, and not fixing Alejandro problem. Also, Senora Flores believes God is punishing her and this is the reason why her son is ill, and does not feel comfortable coming in because of the way she is treated at the front desk once she arrives, and the way she receives the information on treating her son. If there was more understanding normative culture values and communication between the provider and the patient then more could get accomplished. As we read in the case, Senora Flores speaks very little English and does not believe in giving her son all those medications, especially when her and the other children have the same problem and do not have to take them. Senor and Senora Flores show that in the Latino culture that the man provide and protects for his family and the woman primary duty is to maintain the home and take care of the children. Dr Jean main concern is the Alejandro asthma issue, and not really trying to find out why the family behavior towards the treatment is the way it
is.
In the Latino culture, care of the children fall to the mother or the grandmother.
In this case, Senora Flores was told by her mother to consult an espiritista about Alejandro asthma problem. Senora Flores was overwhelmed by the information and did not feel respected once she entered into the hospital. If she feels she is not respected, how can she take any of the staff serious? This may have been one of the many reasons why the family chose to turn to alternative treatments. Senora Flores realized that the treatments and medicine from the doctor were not working. The family does not really understand that much about the condition and may not have the means to pay for these visits and medications. During the visit if Dr Jean would have explained what the condition was, and given her important facts such as Puerto Ricans children are nearly 300 percent more likely to have the respiratory ailment than white non-Hispanic children in the continental United States (Associated Press, 2010), just maybe that could have got the attention of Senora Flores and she would have taken the time to use what was given to
her.
Furthermore, respeto is just one of the many normative cultural values that were used in this case. Respect is the English translation for respeto. During the visit there were many times where each person felt has they were being disrespected. Dr Jean felt that the both Senor and Senora Flores disrespected here by not showing up for appointments on time, not coming to visits, and attitude issues. Latino patients may be hesitant to openly disagree with a physician’s recommendations when he/she is not treated with respect. Senor Flores felt they were more concerned about his smoking habits and not worried about how he has to pay for this visit and him missing time away from work, which is costing him more money. The support staff or Dr Jean never took the time to find out if they understood English well, how long they lived here in the U.S., how much they knew about the condition, and do they have any religious beliefs or practices that they should be aware of. These culture differences resulted in not much communication, and leaving people feeling that there were being disrespected. In the case of Alejandro we can see that Dr Jean, Senora Flores, and Senor Flores all viewed this situation from totally different perspectives. This case also shows how the health care providers were unable to understand and discuss what the family’s beliefs were, which resulted in the family using alternative ways to treat their son’s illness. Furthermore, the evidence shows the more knowledge we have on normative cultures will lead to positive results and a great outcome.