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There are more than 200 languages estimated to be spoken here in California alone (McCaffree 611-613). The reason cultural diversity is a barrier is because of different beliefs other countries and cultures have regarding health care. Another part of this type of barrier is due to language differences. Culture is a huge part of our life and each needs to be treated with respect. The US is one of the most culturally diverse nations in the world so it’s even more important here; California is a very diverse state. Since the 20th century, there has been an increase in immigration into this country from different cultures. Our diversity is part of what defines us as a country. One such example is the Chinese culture that believes in the concept …show more content…
Although health care questionnaires come in different languages, it can still be misinterpreted by the patient or their family. Without a way to communicate, the doctor can’t effectively treat the patient. One good example of this is the case from the book “The Spirit Catches you and you fall down”. In the book a Hmong family of refugees comes to the US and one of their daughters has epilepsy. They take her to the emergency room but are unable to communicate with the staff because they don’t understand or read English. When the doctors prescribe the little girl medication, the mother doesn’t understand how to administer it properly according to Western standards, so the child is taken by Child Protective Services. The family is given multiple chances, even being given a translator/counselor to make sure the child is getting the correct dosage. If there had been better communication, maybe the doctors could have adapted the treatment to the Hmong culture a little more so the mother could have had a chance to administer the medication correctly. In the article “Language: A Crucial Part of Cultural Competency” Jim McCaffree interviewed Laura McNally. Laura McNally works in the health care field so she knows firsthand the barriers of culture and language. McCaffree cites that “McNally says, though, “I’ve worked through interpreters, and it’s very difficult to work through an interpreter because it’s based on the interpreter’s understanding of what you’re telling them.” She adds that “in order for us to provide the care we need to provide, whether it’s in the hospital, in a community-based clinic, or out in the community, we have to be able to speak some of those languages.” (McCaffree
...ulture is changing, Hmong are not all the same, importance of family, privacy issues, mental health issues, and small talk is important (Barrett et al., 1998, 181-182) . Overall, Barrett and others concluded that in order to improve interaction between patient and doctor all they have to do is follow these easy steps. First, is to be kind and have a positive attitude towards the patient and interpreter. Second, learn about each other’s cultures prior to meeting, to better understand each other. Third, better explain diagnosis and treatment options to patients. Fourth, improve translation providers need to get better interpreters who could concisely explain the consultation. Fifth, involve the family to make more thorough decisions. Sixth, respect patient’s decisions and there are still other alternatives to improve interaction (Barrett et al., 1998, 182-183).
The United States’ population is currently rising exponentially and with growth comes demographic shifts. Some of the demographics shifts include the population growth of Hispanics, increase in senior citizens especially minority elderly, increase in number of residents who do not speak English, increase in foreign-born residents, population trends of people from different sexual orientation, and trends of people with disabilities (Perez & Luquis, 2009). As a public health practitioner, the only way to effectively eliminate health disparities among Americans, one must explore and embrace the demographic shifts of the United States population because differences exist among ethnic groups (Perez, 2009). We must be cognizant of the adverse health conditions for each population and the types of socioeconomic factors that affect them. Culture helps shape an individual’s health related beliefs, values, and behaviors. It is more than ethnicity and race; culture involves economic, political, religious, psychological, and biological aspects (Kleinman & Benson, 2006). All of these conditions take on an emotional tone and moral meaning for participants (Kleinman & Benson, 2006). As a health professional, it is one’s duty to have adequate knowledge and awareness of various cultures to effectively promote health behavior change. Cultural and linguistic competencies through cultural humility are two important aspects of working in the field of public health. Cultural competency is having a sense of understanding and respect for different cultural groups, while linguistic competency is the complete awareness of the language barriers that impact the health of individuals. These concepts are used to then work effectively work with various pop...
Being narrow-minded and not being able to take a look at a situation from another person’s point of view can interfere with many situations in life. Culture varies from person to person, province to province, and country to country. Making the adjustment to be able to make adjustments to things such as healthcare to accommodate someone because of their culture is important. Cultural differences will be apparent in all hospital settings no matter where you travel to, so being mindful of it all will go a long way so that the treatment is done correctly and culturally competently. While healthcare may seem as the most important time where culture is sensitive, as Dettwyler sees during her time in Mali, culture affects all parts of life.
Dental professionals have a commitment to respect diversity and create equity of access to dental care for everyone (GDC, 2014). Diversity describes any dimension that can be used to differentiate an individual from others. It requires understanding that each individual is unique and accepting and respecting these individual differences (QCC,2013). These differences could be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender, age, socio-economic status or other ideologies (QCC, 2013). Understanding the impact that these differences may pose is vital in dealing professionally with people from diverse backgrounds and delivering equal treatment for all. Equality refers to identical treatment in dealings quantitates and values (Braveman, and Gruskin, 2003). Thus, creating equality for all might not mean that there are no disparities between different groups. Equity on the other hand refers to fairness and the equality of outcomes and involves recognizing aspects of a system that may disadvantage a certain group and correcting them (Braveman, and Gruskin, 2003). Therefore, in order to overcome potential pitfalls that may create inequity to access, there is a need to explore the different factors encountered in our diverse society that may create these issues. As an example, patients from different ethnic backgrounds may be faced with barriers accounting for the less frequent use of dental care (CQC. 2010). This group will be used as an example and some of the issues behind this inequity of access will be looked at further.
As we go about our daily lives in the beautiful country of Canada which we have been blessed to live in, it has become normal to see a woman who wears the hijab walking down the street, or a Black family driving on the highway, or an Indian man wearing a suit and tie heading into the office. Canada’s cultural diversity is something which makes the country so special to live in, and instances where we see people of different cultures is increasing everyday. Many of the newcomers who arrive from overseas into Canada are families, with children and youth ready to begin their new life filled with opportunity here in Canada. However, youth who settle in Canada with their families aren’t exempted from the trials and tribulations youth face. In fact,
We need to be aware of the diversity in the classroom. Cultural diversity includes: bi-racial, adoptive, immigrant, gay, and step-families. It is a large majority of the students today even in my generation. Focusing on making a balanced curriculum that exposes the students to all of these different backgrounds is very important. I know that it is likely that a teacher will not be able to cater to every student, but it is important to involve each of them. There is a large percentage of students that have dropped out due to the lack of having a connection with the curriculum. It is frustrating that we are lacking progress in our schools to help these children connect when studies show that each cultural group will soon be equal in numbers. We need to form a better
The modern education system in America is building up a nation of racist within our children. Educations promotion of cultural diversity and awareness is actually creating a segregated, inconsiderate, racist culture that prides itself on being racially and ethnically diverse. This emphasis on cultural awareness is built on the idea that the only way for America to reach true diversity is if Americans understand what makes other nations and cultures different. By definition however, cultural awareness is the understanding of the differences between oneself and the people from other countries/backgrounds focusing on the difference in attitude and values. What modern education and culture promotes in cultural awareness stays from this definition
This causes problems about the diagnosis as well as how nurses may tell patients about issues with their care. A way a nurse can overcome this is by having an interpreter when they know that a patient doesn’t know English, but this is not always the case for most nurses as there are not a lot of interpreters around. In health practice language isn’t always to do with culture but it can be the way a nurse or doctor speaks to the patients so they may adopt certain types of jargon and the patients may feel intimidated. Madeleine Leininger, who is the founder of transcultural nursing, says that providing competent care across all cultures and to be customized to fit patient’s different beliefs and traditions and different languages that a patient may speak. Divi et al (2007) claims that language barriers increase the risk of patient care and safety as they will find it difficult to understand what is going on with their care, so it is important for patients to have access to language services such as an
50 million Americans (18.7) percent of the U.S. residents speaks a language other than English at home. Between 1990 and 2000, the number of Americans who spoke a language other than English at home grew by 1.5 million. With the rapid population growth of other nationalities in America, healthcare facilities need to invest in breaking the language barrier in health care and improve communication between healthcare team, their patients, and their families.
As stated on the Provider’s guide to Quality & Culture website, cultural competence “requires an honest assessment of our positive and negative assumptions about others” and “an honest desire not to allow biases to keep us from treating individuals with respect” (Management Science for Health, n.d.). Exploring the website provided a refreshing reminder of helpful ways to communicate with diverse patient populations. The review of the cultural competence and health disparities information highlighted the importance of cultural education, noting the negative outcomes that result when cultural differences are ignored or misunderstood (Management Science for Health, n.d.). Having used this website many times in the past, the information was not
Diversity is a value that shows respect for the differences and similarities of age, sex, culture, ethnicity, beliefs and much more. Having a diverse organization, helps notice the value in other people and also how to teach respect to people that might not know how. The world is filled with different cultures and people that might believe in different things as you, but that doesn’t mean you need to treat them any different. It is imperative for people to grasp diversity because it’ll help people how to engage with others in a respectful yet a hospitable way.
Culture affects the way health care is provided from religious views to languages spoken. According to recent studies, it has been proven that “Communication problems are among the root causes of 59% of serious adverse events reported to the Joint Commission’s Sentinel Event database“(Wasserman et al., 2014). More and more limited English speaking patients “have been harmed by poor comprehension of their medical condition, treatment plan, discharge instructions, complications and poor or inadequate informed consent“(Wasserman et al., 2014). Therefore, it is important that the medical field finds ways to improve relationships with patients, health care providers, and community members through communication and inter-collaborative practice.
Cultural Appropriation versus Multiculturalism In today's society, there are many different cultures that individuals identify with. Culture is very important to many people and is something that helps define who we are. When different cultures are respected and appreciated, it is a beautiful thing, it can bring individuals in society closer to one another. Ideally, this understanding of one another’s cultures can lead to multiculturalism.
In the future, the world will only become more diverse. People should learn to appreciate it by acknowledging the differences around them. Sometimes people are scared that “recognizing differences will divide people from each other. However, learning about cultural differences can actually bring people closer together” ( “Section 1”). It would be better if people became closer together instead of growing apart because of discrimination and other mistreatment. Building relationships with different cultures should be a goal of everyone and even nations as a whole. Each group has different strengths that can benefit the the community altogether. Since the world will definitely become more diverse, it is important to be informed about cultural groups so you can become more marketable and succeed in a diverse world.
Cultural sensitivity begins with recognition that there are differences between cultures. These differences are reflected in the ways that different groups communicate and relate to one another, and they carry over into interactions with health care providers. If health care providers and their patients are to interact effectively, they must move beyond both cultural sensitivity and cultural biases that create barriers. A culturally competent clinician views all patients as unique individuals and realizes that their experiences, beliefs, values, and language affect their perceptions of clinical service delivery, acceptance of a diagnosis, and compliance.