Citation
This study relies on this journal: Singleton, K., & Krause, E. (2009). Understanding cultural and linguistic barriers to health literacy. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 14(3).
General statement on the article
In 2007, the Joint Commission identified cultural barriers, low health literacy and limited proficiency in English as the barriers to successful health communication (Singleton & Krause, 2009). In the modern medical setting, clinicians offer medical care to a diverse patient population. The diversity of this population has increased due to increasing globalization. Nurses have been confronted with the cultural and linguistic problems which affect communication and delivery of healthcare (Singleton & Krause, 2009). Most patients, owing to the diversity of their backgrounds are unable to apply basic health literacy skills. This article explores the effect of linguistic and cultural barriers to effective health communication.
Search strategy
I found this journal in the UW library by utilizing search tools. Since this article discusses culture and communication in healthcare, I was interested in how these two terminologies relate with one another. The most helpful search terms were communication, culture, and health. However, the phrase “language proficiency” was not as helpful as I thought it would be.
Two cultures represented in the article
The two cultures represented here include Hispanic and White populations. The average health literacy scores for the culturally diverse American population revealed that 66% of Hispanic and 28% of White adults have ‘below basic’ health literacy skills (Singleton & Krause, 2009). This statistic implies that the majority of Hispanic population cannot understand health communication. Studies have also revealed that Hispanic adults who spoke a language other than English prior to commencement of school had low health skills compared White adults who spoke English prior to commencement of school. These differences in health literacy skills have contributed to ethnic and racial disparities.
Relevant cultural practices
The Hispanic community experiences limited English proficiency. This limitation has become a barrier in their access to medical services. Hispanic elders have a habit of wanting to use the Spanish language. The poor proficiency in the English language stems from immigration history, economic background, and level of education and place of residence (Singleton & Krause, 2009). Unlike the Hispanic population, the White non-Hispanic population has a high proficiency in English language. This strength has given this population an advantage while seeking medical services. Only 9.6% of the White non-Hispanic population has poor health.
The barrier
Culture and language have significantly affected the delivery of healthcare in the United States in the last fifteen years. Culture and communication messily interact in different ways in different patients. Patients that come from minority populations experience poor health communication. In this regard, they receive low health literacy skills compared to patients from dominant ethnic origins. Cross-cultural communication barriers cause bias in the delivery of healthcare services. For example, it is easy for a U.S. born patient with poor health literacy skills to communicate with the nurses and seek medical attention than an immigrant that has the same level of literacy skills (Singleton & Krause, 2009). This is because the individual born in the U.S. can communicate in English more easily than an individual coming from a non-English origin.
Strategies
Clearly, the differences in health literacy skills, cultural and linguistic barriers point to the need for culturally competent healthcare professionals to deal with cultural diversity. Unless the issue of cultural competence is addressed patients with poor communication abilities are likely to face exclusion and bias while seeking healthcare services. To reduce this challenge, nurses should develop awareness of their cultural and linguistic identities and recognize the diversity of culture and language (Singleton & Krause, 2009). Establishing new educational settings for patients, nursing students and clinicians is necessary in addressing the relationship between culture and language. Another strategy to reduce the problem is the formation of partnerships between nurses and their colleagues in various fields such as social work and public health.
Implementation and outcome
Implementation of these strategies can be done by involving local education centers. These centers can help in improving cultural awareness and provide room for interaction between clinicians and patients of diverse backgrounds. Formation of an interdisciplinary learning on health will help in communicating health messages to groups and overcome barriers relating to culture and language (Singleton & Krause, 2009). The outcome of this strategy will be reflected in culturally sensitive clinicians and happy patients.
Opinion
I believe that the dispensation of healthcare services should go beyond the borders of race, religion or culture. As the world increasingly becomes globalized, there is a need for culturally responsive healthcare givers who can accommodate the diversity in language and culture. Nurses should enhance their cultural awareness in order to be able to communicate health messages to a diverse patient population.
References
Singleton, K., & Krause, E. (2009). Understanding cultural and linguistic barriers to health
literacy. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 14(3).
