This paper investigates how language, culture and health literacy impact the ability to access quality care for individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). This analysis draws upon a fictional case study, the story of the Gonzales family, developed by the National Center for Cultural Competence of Georgetown University (n.d.). Silvia and Juan Gonzales represent many individuals who experience the challenges of navigating a health care system that they do not understand, because they do not speak English proficiently. This paper is divided into two sections. The first part analyses the impact of LEP on the Gonzales ability to access quality health care, by looking at the communication skills of Silvia and Juan, as well as at those of …show more content…
Department of Health & Human Services, 2017). In fact, even though the doctor who diagnosed the couple’s unborn baby with spina bifida worked with a trained medical interpreter to communicate to the Gonzales, the use of technical medical terms made it difficult for the couple to understand the nature of the problem. Similarly, though the Gonzales received pamphlets about spina bifida in Spanish, those materials contained complex language that confused the couple. Furthermore, health practitioners did not employ communication styles that suited the Gonzales cultural and emotional needs. For example, Silvia and Juan found the doctor’s word choice and body language frightening rather than comforting. Also, after the child, Rosa, was born the couple did not feel involved in the decision-making process pertaining to Rosa’s treatment plan. They felt doctors used a physician-centered style, which consisted of doctors giving parents’ instructions about medicines and treatments. For Silvia and Juan, this approach was not ideal as it did not consider them as an active voice in deciding what was best for Rosa. The health services and health plan recommended did not meet the family professional and logistical needs either, as the family had to travel long hours to reach medical facilities that delivered certain treatments to
Racial and ethnic inequalities in healthcare results in non-white patients receiving lower quality care that White patients. Additionally, people who speak limited English encounter more communication issues with doctors and nurses that people whose primary language is English. (AHRQ, 2011). Consequently, as people with chronic conditions utilize more healthcare services, they are more likely to complain of issues with the doctor-patient relationship. They feel as though they are not able to participate in their care, their doctors do not allow them to contribute to their medical decisions and they feel like doctors are not disclosing all information related to care. People who encounter this type of cultural ignorance become dissatisfied with their treatment and overall healthcare experience and are at high risk for negative
The intersection of health policy to the case of Senora Benitez is brought by social, political and environmental factors. First social, Senora Benitez with no children, husband who got laid off from work and a life in a trailer truck added in worsening the health condition of Senora. I think if only the husband can have work and if they have children who can support their needs it will be easier for the family to support the treatment needed by the patient. Political wise because of the surgeon who’s been wanting to have his own vascular surgery clinic and did a wrong surgery. Also it is stated that he started the patient on additional antibiotic, which makes the kidney of the patient to diffuse. I think because of the dream of the doctor the budget allotted to the patient was consumed and the hospital administrators became worried. I also want to assume that educational background was also not tackled, it is important to know that the patient is understanding the teaching well and know the importance of the treatment and possible outcome if not followed. Also, social isolation when the author described Mrs. Benitez not attending church and the only option for her would be her neighbor who barely let them borrow the car to drive for 12 miles. The distance of the health care center is also a factor and the reason why can’t do follow up
Education regarding unit or group thinking is to be encouraged and reinforced. The fact that newborn Rosarie will be entering the home poses unique challenges that will require all members of the family to work together. Maria, Jamie, and Alice must be educated on the signs and symptoms of respiratory distress in the newborn and interventions that must be initiated when distress occurs. The nurse responsible for this teaching must require both verbalization and return demonstration of skills learned to ensure proper reception of the information. Once skills are developed by the adults within the home, the remaining children should then be educated on the signs and symptoms as well and actively participate in care. Involving the entire family will bring a cohesive thinking, and allow the family to work as a unit. A marriage counseling referral should as be provided to Maria and Jamie in order for them to work out their existing issues improving their likelihood of a successful marriage. Routine “check in’s” (phone calls, visits, etc.) should be in place for the family both by social services and pediatricians. In addition, community outreach programs (food banks, cultural organizations, etc.) are designed to support families like the Perez’s, nurses working within the community should tell these families about these resources
Nearly all Haitian immigrants entering the U.S. are poorly educated, illiterate, and speak only Creole, which is seldom seen in written form. Creole is a “pidgin” language, meaning it is a simplified form of a base language with parts of other languages added. These types of languages were frequently used by sailors, pirates, and other trade people to accommodate the span of communication needs they faced. Haitian Creole is thought to have been derived by combining various native African dialects with the French language of their owners. Very few Haitians (10%) can actually speak French, and one’s ability to do so is seen as an indicator of social class. Because of Haitian views that Creole is the language used by the poor and uneducated, many will claim to be able to speak French and become insulted if it is suggested that they speak Creole. This can pose a problem for the healthcare worker trying to find a way to communicate. Often the only interpreters available to a family are their children who have learned English in schools here. This can create conflict within the family therefore a facility provided interpreter usually produces a better outcome. Written materials are often of no use to the Haitian immigrant.
In my life I have seen how even while speaking the same language there can be communication problems. Adding the inability to speck the same language and then the complexity of describing medical conditions, I can see how the situation could turn out poorly and cause troubling effects. This chapter has helped me better understand why the Hmon...
The increase and changing demography in the United State today, with the disparities in the health status of people from different cultural backgrounds has been a challenge for health care professionals to consider cultural diversity as a priority. It is impossible for nurses and other healthcare professionals to learn and understand theses diversity in culture, but using other approaches like an interpreter is very helpful for both nurses and patients. In this paper of a culturally appropriate care planning, I will be discussing on the Hispanic American culture because, I had come across a lot of them in my career as a nurse. The Hispanic are very diverse in terms of communication and communities and include countries like Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, South and Central America, and some of them speak and write English very well, some speaks but can’t write while some can’t communicate in English at all but Spanish.
The goal of this lesson is to explore how we can improve communication to eliminate language barriers between healthcare providers and patients in our organization and to establish culturally and linguistically appropriate goals, that provide safe, equal, and quality care to all our clients regardless of race, ethnic, or socioeconomic status. At the end of this lesson we should be
Goode, T. D., Dunne, M. C., & Bronheim, S. M. (2006). The evidence base for cultural and linguisitc competence in healthcare. The Commonweatlh Fund , 1-46.
pp. 197-205 Singleton, K., & Krause, E. (2009). Understanding cultural and linguistic barriers to health literacy. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 14(3). United Nations.
Rosa and Miguel are experiencing relationship problems due to developmental and financial stressors. This has created a turbulent home environment. Miguel’s verbal abuse and open hostility has Rosa emotionally overwhelmed. He is not physically abusive; however, his anger is upsetting the household. The children are also displaying emotional and physical stress related symptoms. Rosa and Miguel come from emotionally unstable homes, which has impacted their ability to communicate and manage their emotions. Due their inability to communicate in a productive manner, they have sought help to resolve their problems. Both have expressed the concern that they are repeating the harmful behavior they experienced as children. They
According to Penner et al. (2013), there are various causes of healthcare disparities, such as socioeconomic status; this results to poor healthcare services for people with low socioeconomic status, as people with low pay find it difficult to leave their work to seek healthcare help, or to afford healthcare insurance (p.4). The second cause is language proficiency. The language barriers faced by the immigrant plays a role in the healthcare disparities among the racial or ethnic minority patients. Another cause is health literacy. The levels of the health literacy among the foreign born individuals can be influenced by their higher level of distrust of the healthcare providers and healthcare system than they have towards Caucasian people. This, in turn, leads them to seek healthcare information less often than their Caucasian counterparts, thus hindering the provision of quality services, as well as limiting the foreign patients’ ability to manage their health conditions effectively. The foreigners’ failure to easily accept the information provided to them by healthcare providers puts them at risk. Disentangling the role of health literacy in racial healthcare disparities from the effects of racial attitudes and beliefs is often hard (Penner et al,
Conaty-Buck, S. (2009). Unblocking barriers: Clearing the channel to improve communication between practitioners and patients with low health literacy. (Order No. 3364864, University of Virginia). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 121. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.uproxy.library.dc-uoit.ca/docview/305011452?accountid=14694. (305011452).
As the Latino population continues to grow the chances of a medical professional providing assistance also rises. According to recent surveys and studies, “A frequent challenge for many Hispanic patients is describing the degree of their pain and discomfort to healthcare providers” (Erickson A., 2006). One of the most important aspects of treating patients is being able to be understood and having the patient comprehend their condition. Anderson et al. (2003) conducted a survey which reported that 39% of Latinos had communication problems with their physician: they felt that their doctor did not listen to everything they had said, they did not understand the doctor and they had questions but did not ask them. Moreover, current trends show common disparities amongst the population. Centers for Disease Control (2015) say Hispanics are more susceptible to suffer from the following: obesity , diabetes , periodontitis , and more likely to have unchecked HIV in
Bentancourt et al. (2005) allows asserts that there are three distinctive reasons why cultural competency is so very important for the American healthcare system. American is composed of a very diverse population, which mean healthcare providers will continual be exposed to treating individuals from various backgrounds and from various cultures; their beliefs regarding their health or healthcare may range widely. When patients have a deficiency in the English language, proper healthcare delivery becomes increasingly more difficult as they will present symptoms in the syntax of their culture and their first language. Also, research shows the communication between the patient and their provider directly correlates to their satisfaction as well as their responsiveness or willingness to follow the health provider medical instructions; this ultimately affects the patient’s health outcome (Bentancourt et al., 2005). It’s fair to say that a successful health outcome is also contingent upon the interaction of the health provider and patient. Reports generated by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) – “Crossing the Quality Chasm and Unequal Treatment, confirms that cultural competence that focuses on the care of patient through
Miranda is an expert at her profession as well as an admirable teacher and mother figure to her fervent interns; however when we get a closer look at her personal life at home, she is depicted as the paternal figure of her family. Miranda’s husband takes care of their son and stays at home while she works long hours at the hospital. She reverses the stereotypical expectations of the traditional roles of women by being the main source of income for the family, but she is perceived by her husband as a workaholic who does not care for her family. Miranda, though she loves her son, repeatedly expresses that she has goals and dreams other than existing as a traditional stay at home mother. The lives she interacts with at work critically affect her character. She loves her patients and feels valiant when she saves a life and impacts another family’s life for the better. Miranda and her husband end up arguing and getting divorced over her husband’s opinion; that she puts other family’s well-beings before their own. Miranda continues to act as a mother figure to her coworkers and eventually gets promoted to be the head of general surgery. She aspires to advance at the hospital