Nurse 429V: Heritage Assessment
Whitney Scott
Nurse 429V
Heritage Assessment
March 25, 2015
The delivery of health care is specific to the needs of each patient as an individual. In achieving this health care professionals must take into consideration the patients cultural and traditional values. Thru the years many people have mixed within cultures; however, most have retained their deep rooted cultural customs, values, and beliefs. In order to deliver quality care to patients and achieve positive clinical outcomes health care professionals must be culturally competent in diverse populations. To become culturally competent health care professionals use an assessment tool known as the “Heritage Assessment Tool”. This tool asks a set of questions that is used to investigate a patient’s cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. By using …show more content…
this tool providers will be able to provide better care by taking the patient’s lifestyle and health care beliefs into consideration.
The author of this paper was asked to complete three heritage assessments and write about her findings. This paper will focus on the cultures and health traditions of the American culture, Samoan culture, and Dominican Republic culture.
American Culture The family interviewed was that of the authors; the Scott family. Although her ancestors were originally from Scotland her parents and grandparents were born in America. The United States (US) is the third largest country in the world with over 320 million people. Due to the vast amount of people, the US is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world making it known as the “melting pot”. It gets this nickname because every region in the world has influenced America’s culture in some way. There is over 300 languages spoken and nearly every religion in the world is practiced here (Zimmerman, 2015) The author herself was born in Washington State which is located in the Pacific Northwest. She has lived there her entire life never traveling out of the country. Both her Mother and Father were also born in Washington along with her paternal Grandparents. Her maternal Grandparents were both born in the Southern State of Texas. The Author has one half-brother who is five years younger than her and no sisters. Her parents divorced when she was one year old and she was raised in a blended family what is known as a Stepfamily. In the US divorce is very common and the step family is just as common as the nuclear family. The author was raised with her father and stepmother with no other kids in the home. In her home religion was never discussed or practiced, however when she visited her mother and half-brother one weekend a month they routinely went to church. Both sides of her family considered themselves Christian, but only her Mother’s side was active in the Christian community. She reports never actually reading the bible, but silent praying every day. As an adult she only attends church with her maternal Grandmother on Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday. She always has been very close with all of her extended family members; spending holidays, celebrating birthdays, and having monthly dinners at both sets of her Grandparents houses with Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. Most often at her maternal Grandparents house the food items include; old fashion chicken and homemade noodles over mashed potatoes, fresh biscuits, and chocolate Texas sheet cake for dessert. Before her paternal Grandparents passed, dinner at their house included homemade Spaghetti, Garlic cheese bread, salad with ranch dressing, and a fresh baked fruit pie. Growing up all of her peers were Caucasian and most were Christian, the area she lives in was not a diverse community, but over the years it has grown to be. Now she has friends and family of different ethnic and religious back grounds, including her daughter whom is a quarter Samoan. Both sides of the authors family is considered middle class and has always had medical health coverage through an insurance company paying monthly premiums. The author however became a single mother as a teenager and turned to Medicaid; a free government funded health coverage program for her and her daughter. They both remained on public health care until she graduated from college and could afford private insurance.
Most of her family sees a doctor at least once a year for checkups. All children are vaccinated and most utilize the yearly flu shots. Cancer, heart disease, and addiction are prevalent on both sides of her family, so she promotes prevention as much as she can.
American Samoan Culture
The Samoan family interviewed happens to be the author’s daughters paternal great grandmother, from the Peapealalo family. This family is deeply rooted from Pago Pago which is a small island and the capitol of American Samoa and is located in the South Pacific Ocean. America Samoa was settled in the 1700’s by the Polynesians and became a US territory in 1900. While there is a strong American influence in the islands, American Samoans proudly retain their cultural heritage (Every culture, 2015).
The official language of American Samoa is the Samoan language. It is much like other Polynesian languages such as; Tongo, Tahitian, and Roratongan. English is spoken rarely and only by educated Samoans in the city of Apia. The Mormon religion is prominent in this country, and it is actively practiced by Ms. Peapealalo. Traditional family life is living within an extended family; meaning Parents, Children, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. From the time children are toddlers they are expected to obey and respect all elders, there is absolutely no tolerance for misbehavior or disobedience. The older children are expected to help raise the younger siblings and adult hood is marked by a traditional tribal tattoo (Every culture, 2015).
Ms. Peapealalo comes from a large family herself with eight brothers and three sisters. She is the youngest and reports living in a small village with her entire extended family. Their home was a very large room built on volcano rock with a straw roof and only her parents had a bed. She describes family as being very strong and close, nothing like here in the US she says. Children have respect and listen to their elders or they would be harshly disciplined. Her older siblings took care of her, and the whole village worked together to gather food and build shelter. They lived off of the land eating roots, fish, turtle, and fruits.
She remembers many celebrations in her childhood and that women were cherished. They too celebrate Mother’s day, but by wearing traditional costumes, dancing, and singing. She traveled to the US with her father and three sisters after her mother and all her brothers passed away from what she reports as the “flu”. She was twenty-five years old when she arrived in the US. She said she was very scared and sad. Her dad started working right away and so did she. She met a very handsome American man, fell in love, and moved away from her father and sisters. Shortly after she moved they passed away, first her father then her sisters. She was emotional talking about it.
Ms Peapealalo is 90 years old and became a widow when she was 50. She never remarried and is still very active in her Mormon church. She has three children and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. She is closest with her Son and first born Grandson and feels the rest of her family abandoned her. She rarely goes to the doctor and has never been sick she says. She walks every morning and every night. She reports always being active, even when she was very little. She has a Doctor, but says she has only met him a couple times.
A few Samoan traditional health beliefs and practices include; the more you eat the healthier you are, illness is caused by spirits; meaning if you haven’t been helpful with your family you will get sick, they prefer traditional healers with use of prayer and medicines made from local plants over western medicine, mental health issues are not talked about outside of the family, and the elderly are cared for at home (Allotey, 2010).
Peapealalo reports she received vaccinations when she came to the US as did her father and sisters. When she was a child there was no vaccinations in her homeland, but she reports there is now. She refuses the annual flu shot and says she has never been sick and she will stick with walking to stay healthy.
Dominican Republic Culture
The Dominican man interviewed is from the Ramon family. He, his Parents, maternal Grandparents, and paternal Grandparents are all from Santo Domingo which is the capital and the largest city in the Dominican Republic (DR). This country is attached to Haiti and between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Mr. Ramon says his country is a beautiful and he loves it very much.
The Dominican has great history with its early independence making the people very proud of their Spanish heritage.
Spanish is the native language and has a distinct accent compared to other Spanish speaking countries. According to World Bank 2013 the population of DR was 10.4 million and the life expectancy is 73 years old. Most of the country lives in an urban setting. Seventy percent of the people are affected by poverty and unemployment is high. Most of their economy is based on sugar, rice, and bananas. The DR is the one of the world’s largest trade free zone and most of the zones are owned by US companies. These industrial jobs include working in factories and most of the employees are women. Their monthly salary is estimated around seventy dollars a month with no benefits. Extended family living arrangements are also very common in this country. Most of the population are Roman Catholics and celebrate traditional holidays such as Christmas and Easter. Politeness is very important to Dominicans as is their appearance. They are also considered very animated and make a lot of hand gestures during communication (Every Culture,
2015).
Mr Ramon’s parents divorced when he was ten years old and shortly after that he moved to the US with his Father. His Mother stayed in the DR and he has no siblings. He continues phone contact with his mother on holidays, but has never returned to his home country. His father remarried an American woman and he grew up with just the three of them here in the US. He remembers as a child in DR living in a very small house with lots of people; his parents, grandparents, an uncle, and cousins. He said once he moved here to the US he was never raised with other kids, he missed it a lot and at times wished he could go back. He explains his Father taught him very good work ethic; he has worked since he arrived in the US. School was a priority through graduation. He explained back home you only had to complete the sixth grade, then you had to go out and find a job to help support the family. He is thankful the US isn’t like that, so when he has kids they can enjoy their school years.
In the US they continued the traditional DR foods such as Sancocho, Chicharron, ConCon, and Moro. He also reports praying daily and attending a local catholic church every Sunday. He has many friends of different cultures and religious back grounds and enjoys learning of their traditions and beliefs. He is unmarried with no children. He still lives with his father and they are very close. He does not remember receiving any vaccines in DR, but he did when he came to the US. He has healthcare provided by the government, and sees a doctor at least yearly. He reports no significant health concerns with him or in his family.
According to the Every Culture website Dominican Republic has public clinics and hospitals that provide free health care, but people who can afford it prefer to see a private doctor. The public facilities are understaffed and poorly equipped and focuses on curative not preventive care. There is an estimated one thousand patients to one doctor and parasites and infectious diseases are common. Many people practice Voo Doo healing, see native healers, and herbalists. Rural water still needs to be boiled before consumed and Malaria and Rabies are still an issue to this date (2015).
In conclusion traditional and cultural beliefs still play a vital role in health care among different cultures. Regardless of the combining of cultures and mixtures of ethnicities communities have still hung on to their cultural beliefs. In order to achieve patient satisfaction and positive health outcomes it is crucial that all healthcare professionals be culturally competent. The Heritage Assessment tool is essential in combining traditional and modern medicine.
References
Countries & Their Cultures (2015). Dominican Republic. Retrieved on March 25, 2015 from http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/Dominican-Republic.html Countries & Their Cultures (2015). Samoans. Retrieved on March 25, 2015 from http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Tajikistan-to-Zimbabwe/Samoans.html Kim Zimmerman (2015). American Culture: Traditions and Customs of the United States
Retrieved on March 25, 2015 from http://www.livescience.com/28945-american- culture.html Pascale Allotey (2010). Samoans & Tongans;A Guide for Health Professionals. Retreived on March 25, 2015 from http://www.health.qld.gov.au/multicultural/health_ workers/sam_tong.pdf The World Bank (2015) Population & Life Expectancy. Retrieved on March 25, 2015 from
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN
Nurse 429V
Heritage Assessment
March 25, 2015
The delivery of health care is specific to the needs of each patient as an individual. In achieving this health care professionals must take into consideration the patients cultural and traditional values. Thru the years many people have mixed within cultures; however, most have retained their deep rooted cultural customs, values, and beliefs. In order to deliver quality care to patients and achieve positive clinical outcomes health care professionals must be culturally competent in diverse populations. To become culturally competent health care professionals use an assessment tool known as the “Heritage Assessment Tool”. This tool asks a set of questions that is used to investigate a patient’s cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. By using …show more content…
this tool providers will be able to provide better care by taking the patient’s lifestyle and health care beliefs into consideration.
The author of this paper was asked to complete three heritage assessments and write about her findings. This paper will focus on the cultures and health traditions of the American culture, Samoan culture, and Dominican Republic culture.
American Culture The family interviewed was that of the authors; the Scott family. Although her ancestors were originally from Scotland her parents and grandparents were born in America. The United States (US) is the third largest country in the world with over 320 million people. Due to the vast amount of people, the US is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world making it known as the “melting pot”. It gets this nickname because every region in the world has influenced America’s culture in some way. There is over 300 languages spoken and nearly every religion in the world is practiced here (Zimmerman, 2015) The author herself was born in Washington State which is located in the Pacific Northwest. She has lived there her entire life never traveling out of the country. Both her Mother and Father were also born in Washington along with her paternal Grandparents. Her maternal Grandparents were both born in the Southern State of Texas. The Author has one half-brother who is five years younger than her and no sisters. Her parents divorced when she was one year old and she was raised in a blended family what is known as a Stepfamily. In the US divorce is very common and the step family is just as common as the nuclear family. The author was raised with her father and stepmother with no other kids in the home. In her home religion was never discussed or practiced, however when she visited her mother and half-brother one weekend a month they routinely went to church. Both sides of her family considered themselves Christian, but only her Mother’s side was active in the Christian community. She reports never actually reading the bible, but silent praying every day. As an adult she only attends church with her maternal Grandmother on Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday. She always has been very close with all of her extended family members; spending holidays, celebrating birthdays, and having monthly dinners at both sets of her Grandparents houses with Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. Most often at her maternal Grandparents house the food items include; old fashion chicken and homemade noodles over mashed potatoes, fresh biscuits, and chocolate Texas sheet cake for dessert. Before her paternal Grandparents passed, dinner at their house included homemade Spaghetti, Garlic cheese bread, salad with ranch dressing, and a fresh baked fruit pie. Growing up all of her peers were Caucasian and most were Christian, the area she lives in was not a diverse community, but over the years it has grown to be. Now she has friends and family of different ethnic and religious back grounds, including her daughter whom is a quarter Samoan. Both sides of the authors family is considered middle class and has always had medical health coverage through an insurance company paying monthly premiums. The author however became a single mother as a teenager and turned to Medicaid; a free government funded health coverage program for her and her daughter. They both remained on public health care until she graduated from college and could afford private insurance.
Most of her family sees a doctor at least once a year for checkups. All children are vaccinated and most utilize the yearly flu shots. Cancer, heart disease, and addiction are prevalent on both sides of her family, so she promotes prevention as much as she can.
American Samoan Culture
The Samoan family interviewed happens to be the author’s daughters paternal great grandmother, from the Peapealalo family. This family is deeply rooted from Pago Pago which is a small island and the capitol of American Samoa and is located in the South Pacific Ocean. America Samoa was settled in the 1700’s by the Polynesians and became a US territory in 1900. While there is a strong American influence in the islands, American Samoans proudly retain their cultural heritage (Every culture, 2015).
The official language of American Samoa is the Samoan language. It is much like other Polynesian languages such as; Tongo, Tahitian, and Roratongan. English is spoken rarely and only by educated Samoans in the city of Apia. The Mormon religion is prominent in this country, and it is actively practiced by Ms. Peapealalo. Traditional family life is living within an extended family; meaning Parents, Children, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. From the time children are toddlers they are expected to obey and respect all elders, there is absolutely no tolerance for misbehavior or disobedience. The older children are expected to help raise the younger siblings and adult hood is marked by a traditional tribal tattoo (Every culture, 2015).
Ms. Peapealalo comes from a large family herself with eight brothers and three sisters. She is the youngest and reports living in a small village with her entire extended family. Their home was a very large room built on volcano rock with a straw roof and only her parents had a bed. She describes family as being very strong and close, nothing like here in the US she says. Children have respect and listen to their elders or they would be harshly disciplined. Her older siblings took care of her, and the whole village worked together to gather food and build shelter. They lived off of the land eating roots, fish, turtle, and fruits.
She remembers many celebrations in her childhood and that women were cherished. They too celebrate Mother’s day, but by wearing traditional costumes, dancing, and singing. She traveled to the US with her father and three sisters after her mother and all her brothers passed away from what she reports as the “flu”. She was twenty-five years old when she arrived in the US. She said she was very scared and sad. Her dad started working right away and so did she. She met a very handsome American man, fell in love, and moved away from her father and sisters. Shortly after she moved they passed away, first her father then her sisters. She was emotional talking about it.
Ms Peapealalo is 90 years old and became a widow when she was 50. She never remarried and is still very active in her Mormon church. She has three children and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. She is closest with her Son and first born Grandson and feels the rest of her family abandoned her. She rarely goes to the doctor and has never been sick she says. She walks every morning and every night. She reports always being active, even when she was very little. She has a Doctor, but says she has only met him a couple times.
A few Samoan traditional health beliefs and practices include; the more you eat the healthier you are, illness is caused by spirits; meaning if you haven’t been helpful with your family you will get sick, they prefer traditional healers with use of prayer and medicines made from local plants over western medicine, mental health issues are not talked about outside of the family, and the elderly are cared for at home (Allotey, 2010).
Peapealalo reports she received vaccinations when she came to the US as did her father and sisters. When she was a child there was no vaccinations in her homeland, but she reports there is now. She refuses the annual flu shot and says she has never been sick and she will stick with walking to stay healthy.
Dominican Republic Culture
The Dominican man interviewed is from the Ramon family. He, his Parents, maternal Grandparents, and paternal Grandparents are all from Santo Domingo which is the capital and the largest city in the Dominican Republic (DR). This country is attached to Haiti and between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Mr. Ramon says his country is a beautiful and he loves it very much.
The Dominican has great history with its early independence making the people very proud of their Spanish heritage.
Spanish is the native language and has a distinct accent compared to other Spanish speaking countries. According to World Bank 2013 the population of DR was 10.4 million and the life expectancy is 73 years old. Most of the country lives in an urban setting. Seventy percent of the people are affected by poverty and unemployment is high. Most of their economy is based on sugar, rice, and bananas. The DR is the one of the world’s largest trade free zone and most of the zones are owned by US companies. These industrial jobs include working in factories and most of the employees are women. Their monthly salary is estimated around seventy dollars a month with no benefits. Extended family living arrangements are also very common in this country. Most of the population are Roman Catholics and celebrate traditional holidays such as Christmas and Easter. Politeness is very important to Dominicans as is their appearance. They are also considered very animated and make a lot of hand gestures during communication (Every Culture,
2015).
Mr Ramon’s parents divorced when he was ten years old and shortly after that he moved to the US with his Father. His Mother stayed in the DR and he has no siblings. He continues phone contact with his mother on holidays, but has never returned to his home country. His father remarried an American woman and he grew up with just the three of them here in the US. He remembers as a child in DR living in a very small house with lots of people; his parents, grandparents, an uncle, and cousins. He said once he moved here to the US he was never raised with other kids, he missed it a lot and at times wished he could go back. He explains his Father taught him very good work ethic; he has worked since he arrived in the US. School was a priority through graduation. He explained back home you only had to complete the sixth grade, then you had to go out and find a job to help support the family. He is thankful the US isn’t like that, so when he has kids they can enjoy their school years.
In the US they continued the traditional DR foods such as Sancocho, Chicharron, ConCon, and Moro. He also reports praying daily and attending a local catholic church every Sunday. He has many friends of different cultures and religious back grounds and enjoys learning of their traditions and beliefs. He is unmarried with no children. He still lives with his father and they are very close. He does not remember receiving any vaccines in DR, but he did when he came to the US. He has healthcare provided by the government, and sees a doctor at least yearly. He reports no significant health concerns with him or in his family.
According to the Every Culture website Dominican Republic has public clinics and hospitals that provide free health care, but people who can afford it prefer to see a private doctor. The public facilities are understaffed and poorly equipped and focuses on curative not preventive care. There is an estimated one thousand patients to one doctor and parasites and infectious diseases are common. Many people practice Voo Doo healing, see native healers, and herbalists. Rural water still needs to be boiled before consumed and Malaria and Rabies are still an issue to this date (2015).
In conclusion traditional and cultural beliefs still play a vital role in health care among different cultures. Regardless of the combining of cultures and mixtures of ethnicities communities have still hung on to their cultural beliefs. In order to achieve patient satisfaction and positive health outcomes it is crucial that all healthcare professionals be culturally competent. The Heritage Assessment tool is essential in combining traditional and modern medicine.
References
Countries & Their Cultures (2015). Dominican Republic. Retrieved on March 25, 2015 from http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/Dominican-Republic.html Countries & Their Cultures (2015). Samoans. Retrieved on March 25, 2015 from http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Tajikistan-to-Zimbabwe/Samoans.html Kim Zimmerman (2015). American Culture: Traditions and Customs of the United States
Retrieved on March 25, 2015 from http://www.livescience.com/28945-american- culture.html Pascale Allotey (2010). Samoans & Tongans;A Guide for Health Professionals. Retreived on March 25, 2015 from http://www.health.qld.gov.au/multicultural/health_ workers/sam_tong.pdf The World Bank (2015) Population & Life Expectancy. Retrieved on March 25, 2015 from
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN