Abstract
Cultural competence is the building block for maintain the healthcare status of any society. The author has presented implications necessary to strengthen the cultural competence of the African-American community in the United States. The selection of audience is based upon a socio-cultural event related to Black History Month. The idea of belongingness connected the author with the African-American community, irrespective of the cultural differences. Human beings need to dissolve differences by establishing equality through nursing practices. Providing respect and medical facilities can help develop a stronger healthcare environment and greater equality for all communities.
Cultural Competence
Introduction
The personal cultural awareness of identity and views used to learn and construct different cultural norms and community ethics within societies is known as cultural competence. It distinguishes different groups or communities individually and enables them to celebrate group variations (Cultural Competence, n.d.).
The United States is a culturally diverse country made up of different ethnic groups. This diversified mix of cultures presents a set of challenges for healthcare professionals to acquire the skills needed to deal with linguistically and ethnically-diverse patients. The researcher did a personal study of an annual event in order to study one of the many cases from different cultural events taking place in the U.S. (Taylor, Alfred, 2013).
Black History Month
Event Description
Black History Month is an annual event which kicks off in the month of February. The month-long activities include book talks, lectures, museum tours, and a whole host of other cultural activities. The researcher witnessed how the events were organized for people of all age groups, including cultural performances, music, discussions, fashion, and lots more. It felt like the event is a joint effort of the African-American community.
The researcher took part in the events scheduled for February 5 and February 27. On the first day, Patti Labelle sang her greatest hits in a live concert. Post that, the movie ‘3 ½ Minutes’ was screened followed by a discussion. The movie is based on the events related to the shooting and killing of 17-year-old Jordan Davis in Jacksonville, Florida. The third event of the day took place at the University of Miami’s Lakeside Patio Stage. Titled Bob Marley Day, it celebrated the life and legacy of Bob Marley. Another musical event, Lyric Live All Stars, was presented by the Black Archives History & Research Foundation of South Florida.
On February 27, the researcher attended the celebrations at One Heritage, Black History Month Festival, which included food vendors and trucks dishing out traditional delicacies. This was followed by a film screening and discussion session of The Abolitionists. The movie shows how abolitionist allies Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Angelina Grimke, John Brown, and Harriet Beecher Stowe transformed a fringe movement against chattel slavery into a force that changed the fate of the nation.
Although two days were nothing out of the month-long celebrations, they still managed to present the essence of African American History Month. The event showcased the historical and cultural importance of the African-American community in the United States and also in the world at large. Everyone from the county was invited to participate. This year, the Black Affairs Advisory Board paid homage to various historical memorials and places significantly dominant in the African-American experience of the United States. The title of the event’s outline for 2016 was Hallowed Ground: Sites of African American Memories.
Personal Feelings
The cultural events of the African-American people had an inspirational effect on the researcher. There were many moments where the author felt a connection with the members of the African-American community. Their sense of unity and cohesion was visible in the way the event was managed; several historical monuments and related discussions portrayed the presence of Africans and their role in American history. Another source of connection was the community bonding. Throughout the event, the researcher observed family linkage and cultural confidence as a key characteristic prominent among all families. The concept of close-knitted families living as a clan regardless of the ill-treatment by the American society was another point that stood out. The reason behind such a feeling of connectedness with Black History Month was because the concept of close-knitted families is beginning to disappear absent in American society today, resulting in poor elderly care and various other social and psychological issues. The need for such familial bonding, no matter what the situation is, is a growing factor in American society; it was felt by the researcher too. The researcher felt connected with the group as per being a member of the same human race.
Cultural Beliefs Behind the Event
There are rich cultural backgrounds and beliefs behind Black History Month celebrated not only in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom and Canada. Black history month is a time when African-Americans sit to recall the contributions made by their forefathers. During this month, the elders take charge to share stories of the past, their life experiences with the youth. All of them sit together and find time to shed tears for all the deaths and sacrifices made by their ancestors who first arrived in North America on slave ships. Some even cry over modern laws, rules, their application in African-American society, and their implications on family systems (Barbarin, n.d.).
Another cultural belief is the idea of sharing views and personal experiences among African-Americans belonging to different states. They bring changes to the misinterpretations and fallacies related to African-American culture. The open forums and dialogs help in improving several opportunities. Such discussions are built to move towards better understanding of daily pitfalls and experiences, playing their parts in building up families and/or larger societies (Barbarin, n.d.).
It is expected that Black History Month will, someday, be known as the basic pillar towards the concept of equality for all. A day will come when all differences will be abolished and the acknowledgement of a single ‘human race’ will be made (Barbarin, n.d.).
Another strong discussion of the month is the option of ‘can be’ in case of different alternatives to highlight the past, at the same pace with future. Hence, the key goal of the Black History Month is the presence, with hope of its progress in future, of a month of caring and sharing among all peoples of America, which will be followed by the rest in the future as well (Barbarin, n.d.).
Implications of Cultural Beliefs to Advance Nursing Healthcare Services
Cultural competence can be provided through proper care. A significant chunk of America’s population consists of African-Americans. The community has a tendency to catch expected risks of diseases with a limited source of access towards the health system. When viewed in terms of race and income inequality, African-Americans have a limited access to healthcare. The choice of healthcare is ethnic or cultural. Willingness to follow diet plans, medical aids and concept of illness are based upon cultural values, which can be changed by nursing facilities. There are certain communication modes and methodological strategies which can be used to advance healthcare services for African-Americans (Health and Health care, n.d.).
In order to improve the medical healthcare system and nursing among African-Americans, healthcare services should sponsor national competitions to check if programs provide culturally-competent care and offer them incentives for their efforts. The African-American society is closely-knit and family-oriented. Keeping in view their respect for each other, the nurses should be trained to remove all racial discrimination and show them respect while adjusting their minds to the clinical settings. It will enable them to be at ease and build rapport. Nurses and doctors should make sure to use titles like ‘Mr.’, ‘Mrs.’, and only use their names if the staff is permitted to do so. The medics can also note their behavioral changes according to different ethnic groups (Health and Health care, n.d.).
Similarly, language services should be arranged and provided in order to improve the communication gap. With African-Americans, healthcare providers can win their patients’ trust with these simple but important gestures (Health and Health care, n.d.).
Variations in reports due to chosen instruments are noted in order to test cognitive status of African-American elderlies. A research has proved the validity of two tools to test African-American elders: the activities of daily living scale and short portable mental status questionnaire. Hence, they should be assessed with equal respect and care, like patients from other races, particularly white patients (Health and Health care, n.d.).
A research has shown that African-Americans have a stronger belief in family bonding and church bonding. As such, church-based programs should be devised to enhance African-American integrity and community formulation based on supportive health-linked services. Church can be used as a source of family supplements (Health and Health care, n.d.).
There are several other nursing implications too. For example, nursing trainees should keep on training for cultural competence in healthcare, while keeping in mind the government standards and organizational support. Behavioral measure is the basic component in clinical settings (Taylor, Alfred, 2013).
Conclusion
The Black History Month holds a lifelong tale of the African-American experience and its struggle. The community has a strong cultural belief system which is still alive in their society. There are a few major and important implications in nursing, which can elevate the cultural competence of African-Americans, as nurses play a vital role in medical assessment. Their interpersonal connection and understanding resolves several barriers and help process the healthcare patterns successfully.
References
Barbarin, O. (n.d.). Characteristics of African American Families. Retrieved March 5, 2016, from http://ssw.unc.edu/RTI/presentation/PDFs/aa_families.pdf
Sutherland, L. L. (2002). Ethnocentrism in a pluralistic society: A concept analysis. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 13(4), 274-281Health and Health Care of African American. (n.d.). Retrieved March 05, 2016, from http://web.stanford.edu/group/ethnoger/african.html
Taylor, R. A., & Alfred, M. V. (2013). Cultural Competence in Health Care: Implications for Human Resource Development. Retrieved March 5, 2016, from http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1251&context=sferc
Why Cultural Competence? (n.d.). Retrieved March 05, 2016, from http://www.nea.org/home/39783.htm
