Understanding and Applying the Heritage Assessment tool
Understanding and Applying the Heritage Assessment tool
Dana Eldridge
Grand Canyon University: NRS-429V
November 10, 2013
Heritage Assessment
Understanding and Applying the Heritage Assessment tool Nurses have to be culturally competent, they need to assess their individual values and beliefs about health and health care; otherwise, nurses might assume that all cultures share western premises and values. In order to be considerate to an individual, nurses must remember that beliefs and values influence individuals and families health care decisions. Nurses and healthcare providers should stay up to date on the diversity of patient culture, if they plan to be effective (Grand Canyon University. 2011). The purpose of this paper is to discuss applying the heritage assessment tool, identify health traditions of certain cultures and interviewing individuals from three different cultures for comparison and how they subscribe to their traditions.
About The Assessment Tool When discussing the usefulness of applying a heritage assessment in evaluating the needs of the whole person, it behooves nurses to remember that treating an individual as a whole, includes understanding the patient, family and community. All these observations can be found within the heritage assessment tool. The assessment tool asks family members to include distant family members and how often they see their family. It also focuses on the community by asking about their schooling and neighborhood environment. Furthermore, the assessment inquires an individual is active in their religious community, how often they participate within their community, and the area in which the individual resides. Therefore, a nurse should feel that this tool is valid when assessing an individual as a whole. The heritage assessment tool is beneficial when assessing health promotions of a person from all cultures because it gives the nurse a foundation and perspective on how
Dana Eldridge
Grand Canyon University: NRS-429V
November 10, 2013
Heritage Assessment
Understanding and Applying the Heritage Assessment tool Nurses have to be culturally competent, they need to assess their individual values and beliefs about health and health care; otherwise, nurses might assume that all cultures share western premises and values. In order to be considerate to an individual, nurses must remember that beliefs and values influence individuals and families health care decisions. Nurses and healthcare providers should stay up to date on the diversity of patient culture, if they plan to be effective (Grand Canyon University. 2011). The purpose of this paper is to discuss applying the heritage assessment tool, identify health traditions of certain cultures and interviewing individuals from three different cultures for comparison and how they subscribe to their traditions.
About The Assessment Tool When discussing the usefulness of applying a heritage assessment in evaluating the needs of the whole person, it behooves nurses to remember that treating an individual as a whole, includes understanding the patient, family and community. All these observations can be found within the heritage assessment tool. The assessment tool asks family members to include distant family members and how often they see their family. It also focuses on the community by asking about their schooling and neighborhood environment. Furthermore, the assessment inquires an individual is active in their religious community, how often they participate within their community, and the area in which the individual resides. Therefore, a nurse should feel that this tool is valid when assessing an individual as a whole. The heritage assessment tool is beneficial when assessing health promotions of a person from all cultures because it gives the nurse a foundation and perspective on how
References: Edelman. & Mandle, (2010). Health Promotion Throughout the Life Span (7th ed). Mosby. Retrieved from http://pageburstls.elsevier.com/books/9780323056625/S1/0 Grand Canyon University. (2011). NRS 429V, Family Centered Health Promotion, Lecture notes 3. Retrieved from https://lc-ugrad1.gcu.edu/learningPlatform/ How culture influences health beliefs. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.euromedinfo.eu/how-culture-influences-health-beliefs.html/?lang=en_us&session