Cultural Competency

Dr. Galanti provides insight into the relationship between cultural diversity and heath care providers. Dr. Galanti’s briefly states the difference between “stereotype and generalization”. The author recognizes that generalization may be a key factor used by workers in the health care community to bring awareness and a better understanding of cultural differences among patients. The article explains that although cultures differ in values, traditions, and beliefs, there are questions (the 4’C’s of culture) that may open up the line of communication, between provider and

Culture diversity Sensitivity is important when dealing with Mexican patients for they tend to be very private and always need to feel respected. It is important to explain what must be done to them first and why it must be done. Mexicans already have the upmost respect for health care providers so by doing this will only help build their trust. Language is another thing to look out for not just for competence, bot also the cultural meaning people attach to it. Culturally congruent care is meaningful, supportive, and facilitative because it fits valued life patterns of patients (Potter

One of the most integral parts of cultural competency is the process of successfully becoming culturally competent. After synthesizing available research on the topic I have constructed four main steps in becoming culturally competent. Those include self-awareness, understanding various aspects of the culturally diverse population for whom you care for, practice evidence based medicine as it relates to culturally diverse populations and continuing education (Kodjo, 2009; Purnell, 2012).

Hispanic and Latino populations are not being provided with adequate mental health care and are an underserved population (Peters, Sawyer, & Guzman, 2014). There are several barriers, cultural and other, that prevent and dissuade Hispanic and Latino individuals from seeking mental health care (The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2015). Lack of bi-lingual providers is one of the many obstacles this population is faced with.

The Hispanic community encounters various barriers to treatment that lead them to not seek, drop out, or have less effective outcomes than other social groups when receiving treatment for substance use. Therefore, the access of treatment for Hispanic immigrants, documented or undocumented must improve. This section of the paper will introduce some ideas that research provides on how to improve access of treatment for the Hispanic community.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define the term, “Latino” or, “Hispanic” as “a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin” (Arias, 2010). In the United States, Latinos have comprised 16 percent of the population, making them the largest minority. Some sources project that this proportion will increase to 30 percent by 2050 (Juckett, 2013). With such a presence of Hispanic people, it is very likely that nurses will have the opportunity to provide culturally competent care to these individuals. As such, it is important to know how the Latino culture generally regards health, illness, disease, and death.

Amid American communities all over the country there is a hidden population of individuals who are particularly susceptible to the damaging effects of the inaccessibility of quality health care. An estimated 11 million people, Latino individuals and families who have entered the United States without documentation, live their lives under an inordinate amount of stress and fear (Sorrell). Undocumented Latino immigrants in the US are especially vulnerable when it comes to their health due to the various barriers and disparities they encounter such as a complicated healthcare system, inaccessible care, language barriers, cultural differences, perceptions of discrimination, and fear of deportation.

In chapter thirteen, Hispanic/Latino health issues, Thomas A. LaVeist examine the health status of the Hispanic/Latino population. The Hispanic and Latino group is the largest nonwhite racial and ethnic group in the U.S. The Hispanics and Latinos have overall good health but can have some trouble when it comes to accessing good quality health care. A lot of Hispanics and Latinos are uninsured. With being uninsured, it’s hard to get the proper health care that is needed. They also have language barriers that affect proper health care. Poverty and low socioeconomic statuses are the greatest health risk factor that Hispanics have to face. They have some barriers when it comes to health care, but they relatively have a better health profile.

Over the past four months, this course has been one of the most eye-opening experiences I have had during my first year of college. Although I have always realized the importance of being culturally competent in daily life, specifically healthcare, I was unaware of the many ways that cultural competence can be obtained. This class gave me the opportunity to view situations from a different perspective, especially through the weekly discussion boards and peer responses. Learning from classmate can teach more valuable lessons than listening to boring lectures or reading hundreds of pages in a textbook because it is easier to relate to experience rather than hypothetical situations. For example, one of the discussion boards asked us to detail

Cultural and language barriers play an important role in patient-provider communication. American health care system is unique among industrialized countries in areas such as technology, scientific discoveries, laws and codes of conduct related to the healthcare system. Despite these advances, the American healthcare system is inefficient compared to other advanced industrialized countries’ healthcare systems. After reading, “The Spirit Catches you and you Fall Down” by Anne Fadiman, uncovers the area that we need to focus on to be a more efficient healthcare system. Evidence and statistics suggest that population in the United States is growing to be more culturally diverse. We need to have more awareness and cross-cultural skills if we want provide better quality care for our patients and our community. Patient education and effective communication play a vital role in patients’ attitudes towards the healthcare system. Providers and social workers need to take their time in explaining the patients about the healthcare

During my two interviews my with my two people of the Hispanic culture I came to find they were both had a good level of health literacy from a quick glance. It’s interesting I came to this conclusion fast after asking them each their questions, because I barely know these two on a personal level. Raul I met last year at comicpalooza, where we bonded over love over television and movies and came in contact since, mostly having conversations about show/movies; but never had conversations on anything like this level. Francis I met over swim class this fall at UH recreation center, so I came to the conclusion to pick two people I didn’t really know to ask these questions for this paper.

Among those individuals who took to American culture, the rates of insurance and having access to care is much higher than those who strictly maintained their Latino culture.1 Preventative medicine and utilization of the healthcare network due to lack of fear regarding barriers to health are all positive outcomes, once full acculturation is assessed. Better self-perception of health is another positive influence that is found through exposure to healthcare as well as

The diversity in the United States continues to grow, increasing the demand of creating more cultural competent programs. Health outcomes are addressed by race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. In research. race and ethnicity are potential predictors for a particular outcome. There is need for more research studies in order to provide an understanding of the different needs among ethnic minority groups. An abundance of research studies aggregates health data of different origin groups such as Hispanics or Asian/Pacific Islanders. The method is used in order to offer a result of a large population that may have multiple subgroups. Therefore, some may argue that aggregating results provides a more feasible process in analyzing a large ethnic

However, curanderismo allows other cultures to accept Chicanos due to stressing the importance of intercultural communication skills in society. For instance, even though some Chicanos have insurance, they tend to follow these holistic practices and are afraid to mention it to their primary physicians because they fear being rejected from society. According to Maritza Montiel, “A recent study concluded that 69% of Mexican Americans do not report the use of herbal remedies to their physicians” (Montiel 83). Becoming aware of the cultural differences, encourages cross cultural sensitivity by reducing the tensions between other cultures and practices. In addition, professionals can understand their patients’ needs by understanding the social framework of the biological illness. In addition, practitioners can then identify the similarities between their practice by viewing how “The focus on physical, emotional, and social interaction and spirituality by the practitioner of curanderismo is consistent with the holistic values of nursing as a profession” (Amerson 2). In summary, curanderismo is used to overcome the social barriers, since it can increase cultural

In the United States, the growing Hispanic market in the healthcare industry must be acknowledged as a tremendous purchasing consumer base. The health care industry needs to recognize all the various needs by making a commitment to the local community and culture. Change cannot happen overnight, consider these 10 tips for targeting Hispanics in the healthcare industry.