Cultural Considerations Across the Lifespan and in Health

Cultural Considerations Across the Lifespan and in Health and Illness

Copyright © 2013, 2004 by Saunders, an

imprint of Elsevier Inc.

1. Define culture and its expression.

2. Describe the difference between beliefs and values.

3. Identify various beliefs and values in today’s adult population.

4. Discuss the impact of culture and personal values on everyday life and healthy behaviors.

5. Explain the relationship of culture and values to health-promotion teaching.

6. Define complementary and alternative therapies.

7. Discuss the role of the government in promoting culturally competent health care.


imprint of Elsevier Inc.2

acculturation alternative

medicine beliefs complementary

medicine cultural awareness cultural care cultural

competence

cultural interventions

cultural sensitivity cultural

stereotyping culture ethnicity ethnocentric stereotyping values



A set of learned values, beliefs, customs, and behaviors shared by a common social group

Passed down through generations of family

Includes food choices

Parenting styles

Health treatment



Observing and demonstrating knowledge of culturally appropriate verbal language, body language, use of personal space, and gestures of respect toward family members

The ability to adapt health care so that it does

not violate the patients’ culture or religion



Awareness of, acceptance of, and respect for beliefs, values, traditions, and practices that are different from one’s own

Cultural stereotyping is the assumption thatall the people of one culture behave and believe the same way

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What practices may be influenced by a person’s culture? Do you think all people of the same culture have the same practices?



Beliefs

Values

Customs

Food Preferences

Parenting Styles

Health Treatment



Cultural teachings of practices and values handed down for generations

Determine how one behaves and responds to daily life and health-care practices



Deep feelings about what is right or wrong, good or bad



A cultural pattern shared by people with the same cultural heritage: ◦ Language

◦ Preferred diet

◦ Specific customs

◦ Family roles

◦ Religious beliefs



Recognizing the history of patients’ ancestry or culture and how their customs influence the handling of problems, issues, or teachings

Ethnocentricity –believing your culture, beliefsor values to be superior

Acculturation- adjustment to a new culture

May result in differences in practice within the same cultural group



Cultural interventions – achieved when healthcare information is presented in a way thatincludes specific cultural styles, etc.

Adds credibility to content by reflecting cultural values

Communication-Obtain an interpreter if needed Gestures and body language important Eye to Eye contact- Some culture values, some

avoid it Personal space- varies among cultures, in the U.S.

it is 1.5 to 4 feet Touching the newborns head is considered bad

luck in the Asian culture.



Effleurage –involves the slow massage of the abdomen in a circular motion using the fingertips to stimulate nerve fibers pg34

The PrimaBella-a noninvasive transdermaldevice for treatment of pregnancy induced nausea and vomiting

Cultures view pregnancy in different ways



Many non-Western cultures expect the woman to have at least 20 to 40 days bed rest after childbirth

Southeast Asian, Hispanic, African American and Chinese cultural practices usually avoid the full washing of the hair and body until lochia has ceased

Chinese consider pregnancy, labor, and delivery a “cold” condition so air-conditioned rooms and cold drinks or foods should be avoided.



Cultural practices can influence the timing of developmental stages

The development of initiative may be later in families that practice an authoritarian style of parenting



Independence in adolescents is not valued equally by all cultures.

Chinese culture does not recognize adolescence as a period of development

Many cultures practice specific rituals that recognize passage from childhood to adulthood



Views of women

Marriage

Birth control

Health care

Abortion

Menopause



A positive attitude toward life and health is encouraged for older adults in most cultures.

Most cultures look to elders as a source of wisdom



Balances between hot and cold Yang (light, heat, or dryness) and yin (darkness,

cold, or wetness) Harmony in body, mind, and spirit Many non-Western cultures believe that balances

between hot and cold affect health and illness (humoral theory)



What is the humoral theory and how might it affect how you care for someone of a non-Western culture?



Specific holidays may involve some restriction of activity

Sacrament of Last Rites

Declining medications or psychotherapy

Declining blood transfusions or medications containing blood products

Sacred undergarments

Illness is the result of sins committed in a previous life or for the atonement of sins in the present life

“Sick persons’ role”



Self-Determination Act of 1991- Granted persons in the US the legal right to full disclosure of medical information

In most Western cultures, a high value is placed on individual life

In many non-Western cultures, the welfare of the family is primary, and life-and-death decisions are made by group approval

In the Hmong culture a person should be well dressed at time of death. All metal objects must be removed from the body before burial.



The myriad of cultures creates an opportunity for misunderstandings and misinterpretations of health-care teachings

Questions should be phrased in a neutral fashion

Asian, Native American, and Muslim patients consider direct eye contact impolite and may look at the floor

Palpating the fontanel may be seen as disrespectful

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Many cultures and religions include certain foods as an integral part of holiday celebrations and may also restrict the consumption of other foods

Hindu culture prohibits consumption of all meat

Islamic and Jewish culture prohibits pork

Some medication bases are made with a gelatin base containing pork products

Seventh Day Adventists prefer a vegetarian diet



Growing desire for control of one's own body and health-care decisions

Desire for consideration of family, cultural beliefs, and values

Alternative medicine

Complementary medicine

Every patient should be assessed for CAM therapy use



National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)

United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health and Cross Cultural Health Care◦ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

U.S. Office of Minority Health



Understanding culture as related to health care will:◦ Improve services and health-care outcomes.

◦ Enhance cost effectiveness of health care.

◦ Reduce errors caused by misunderstandings.

◦ Assist in reaching Healthy People 2020 goals.





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Cultural Considerations Across the Lifespan and in Health