The United States of America has witnessed increased cultural diversity in the last few decades. Unfortunately, research has indicated that there is great disparity in the quality of health care disseminated to different cultural groups in the society. Evidence is increasingly showing that people belonging to minority communities particularly receive less quality health care. Contrary to popular belief however, the low quality of health care among minority communities is not simply attributable to their economic status but can be attributed to an aggregate of several factors. Efforts aimed at eliminating these disparities should be focused on understanding cultural contexts of health behaviors as well as improving the sensitivity to distinctions of culture that are associated with healthcare preference or decision making processes on health care (Spector, 2002). This means that nurses are required to keenly assess individual beliefs and values regarding health care when it comes to dealing with various patients. Nurses must remember that these values and beliefs significantly influence the patient’s health care decisions. The heritage assessment tool greatly assists in this process (Spector, 2002).
The heritage assessment tool enables health care providers to assess the cultural heritage of differential patients. It enables the health care provider to assess how families ascribe to traditional practices. Evaluation of different families using the heritage assessment tool reveals the differences and similarities in the traditions of people and may assist in the provision of holistic and optimal care.
When disseminating health intervention to any patient, it is crucial to take note that the process requires a complete understanding of the patients, their families, and their communities. This understanding is facilitated by the heritage assessment tool as it provides key information related to the patients, their families, and their social ties to the community amongst other important factors. Some of the questions that family members are asked to fill include their relationship to distant family members like uncles and aunts and so on. The community is also included in the heritage assessment. Family members are, for example, asked to indicate their schooling and their neighborhood. Other important factors included in the heritage assessment include religion orientation, common food, and other factors. The heritage assessment tool is, therefore, a very important tool that all health practitioners should utilize when assessing the health promotions of patients from different cultures. It facilitates cultural competence on the side of nurses and other health care practitioners (Lockhart & Resick, 1997). Cultural competence in general terms refer to the skills and the knowledge that must be obtained prior to delivering care to patients of diverse cultural backgrounds (Lockhart & Resick, 1997). This tool gives a foundation and basis on which heath maintenance, health protection and health restoration can be instituted.
Each cultural group has some common heath traditions that are based on their cultural heritage. One of the families assessed using the heritage assessment tool was the Mexican family. Most of the Mexican-Hispanics are Catholic and one major belief in this community is that good heath is actually a gift that comes from God. Therefore, heath intervention in this cultural group is usually reinforced with aspects that include prayers, the wearing of religious ornaments and medals and so on. The Supernatural being that is God is believed to be in control of all human health and illness. This group also believes that illness may result from acting in a way that does not please God. Therefore, illness may be viewed as an opportunity or a chance for one to realign with God (Aschenbrenner and Venable, 2007). The person, therefore, in addition to seeking scientific health intervention also seeks the help of God. In this case the religious beliefs of the individual from this social group is seen to influence their approach to healthcare. Therefore, when nurses are giving care to these individuals, it is important to take into consideration their religious background. The nurse should only initiate interventions techniques that are congruent with the patient’s health beliefs (Aschenbrenner and Venable, 2007).
Another common health tradition relates to holistic health beliefs. This is different among various cultural groups in the nation. For instance, the second family is Caucasian, and most likely belongs to the middle class. Their understanding of health may be different from that of other families. Since there is a high likelihood that they are well educated, they may orient more towards a scientific understanding of health. For example, members from this cultural group may understand that a disease like tuberculosis results from mycobacteria infection. Alternatively, the other family may have a holistic view of health which generally suggests that disease sand infections result from multiple environmental interactions (Aschenbrenner and Venable, 2007). In regard to tuberculosis, such a group may, therefore, adopt the view that the disease results from interrelationships of poverty, overcrowding, malnutrition and mycobacteria.
The role of family is accentuated in all the families assessed. There is a great placement of family attachment to health. The families maintained close contact with other members like uncles, aunts, cousins, sisters, parents and children. Living in neighborhoods containing people of similar ethnic backgrounds and being an active member in religious institutions may also be related to common health traditions among various cultural groups. Both the Hispanic and the non-Hispanic whites showed high-level patterns of attachment to both the family as well as the immediate community. These cultures most probably view living harmony as an essential factor for the maintenance of both physical and spiritual wellbeing.
For the first and second family, the native language is English. The language is important as it influences the success and nature of communication between the nurse or the health care provider and the patient. Since English is the formal language even in the health care center, a patient whose first language is English may have greater belief in the scientific or biomedical health intervention and therefore may be willing to seek it more since they understand that they can easily communicate with the nurse.
The Mexican family’s first language is Spanish. This may be influential to the healthcare approach and beliefs adopted by a patient from this cultural group. Such a patient may hold the belief that seeking biomedical health care intervention may not be successful since the intervention may be hindered by the difference in language. For instance, someone whose first language is Spanish may not be fully able to express themselves to a nurse or a health practitioner and may therefore seek other forms of intervention such as prayer or homemade drugs and regimens. Therefore, language is seen to be a key factor or a key determinant when it comes to the health care approach adopted by a particular patient from a particular cultural group and a nurse should be wary of this.
Nurses in association with other health practitioners are charged with the roles of promoting health maintenance, health protection and health restoration. However, as seen all the aspects related to these should take into consideration the cultural heritage and background of the patient. The techniques utilized to promote health should be consistent with the cultural backgrounds, the religious preferences as well as the self-care preferences.
For example, some cultural groups may be apprehensive about some aspects of physical exercise because they contradict with their faith. Physical exercise serves the roles of both health maintenance and health protection. Even in recommending an intervention like this, the nurse must take into considerations the patient cultural heritage including his beliefs, values, and health preference.
Health restoration may include drug therapy. To restore a patient back to heath, the patient may be required to prescribe certain drugs to patients. Once again, even in doing this, it is extremely critical to take into consideration the patient’s cultural background, religious orientation and other personal preferences (Aschenbrenner and Venable, 2007). Here, the nurse is expected to make efforts and initiatives to determine if the recommended drugs are consistent with the cultural heritage of the patient. Another critical thing to remember is that sometimes, cultural practices when intermixed with modern medical intervention may have disastrous effects (Aschenbrenner and Venable, 2007). For example, in regard to the Mexican family who may not prioritize seeking scientific or biomedical health intervention, some may result to the use of home regimens or even traditional medicines. When they later go to seek biomedical intervention, they may be given drugs that when administered in combination with the traditional regimens may be poisonous to the patient’s body.
Patients can also be taught about health patience and in this process, the communications style should be consistent with that of the patient. For instance, for the Mexican family whose primary language is not English, simple words and explanation should be used. Interpreters should also come in handy. Since the families assessed seems to have deep family connections and attachments, treatment plans can, for example, be communicated in family gatherings.
In conclusion, before a nurse or any health care practitioner initiates a healthcare intervention process or procedure, it is important to conduct a preliminary cultural heritage assessment on the patient. This assessment will help to reveal the differences and similarities in the patient’s traditions, healthcare preferences and other important factors that ultimately assist in the provision of holistic and optimal care and also provide a foundation and basis on which heath maintenance, health protection and health restoration can be instituted.
References
Aschenbrenner, D. S., & Venable, S. J. (2009). Drug therapy in nursing. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Lockhart, J. S., & Resick, L. K. (1997). Teaching cultural competence: The value of experiential learning and community resources. Nurse Educator, 22(3), 27-31.
Spector, R. E. (2002). Cultural diversity in health and illness. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 13(3), 197-199.
