Unsafe Cultural Practices In Health Care

PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION CULTURAL SENSITIVITY

Culturally congruent care starts with cultural safety. Unsafe cultural Practice is brought about by disregarding the cultural identity of the person which is embedded with understanding the values, beliefs and practices. In the domain of fronline practicing nurses, culture is seen as a relational experience. When health care personnel obtain, biographical history using any modality, like the Leininger sunrise model, and strive to understand particulars of each individual, it increases the potential of providing culturally responsive care.

Cultural sensitivity is brought about by employing humanities based emotional intelligence and acknowledging life transitions and circumstances to develop a

Families are close knit and extended. It is not uncommon for different generations and multiple families to live together in the same house. Children are expected to take care of parents and placing them in a long-term care facility is generally frowned upon and considered abandonment. Older generation prefer to die at home. Hindus believe in reincarnation. Cows are considered sacred so eating beef is considered taboo, but milk products are consumed. A red dot is worn on the forehead of the Hindu woman as a sign of marriage and a wedding pendant is worn at all times. It is considered very inauspicious to remove

Family prefer to do the post-mortem care as the body is washed with turmeric, sandalwood paste, red Kumkum powder and holy ash. It is common to pour a small teaspoon of holy water in the dying persons mouth. Cremation is required.

Artificial life support: It is not viewed favorably because it interferes with reincarnation. A very important health care consideration is the time of the life support withdrawal. It has to be very specific; down to the minute, as the time of the release of the soul is calculated by the priest. Family might want a priest at the bedside reciting ‘mantras’ while discontinuing life support.

Births: Newborn babies are not named right away as an astrologer has to suggest the first syllable of the name after looking at the birth star. The naming is done at the temple in an elaborate ceremony, so the parents might not have a name ready for the birth certificate at the hospital. Mother’s may adorn the baby’s forehead with a small black dot to ward off the ‘evil eye’. Circumcision is not