Module 2 Reflection During module 2 we focused on the topics of race, ethnicity, and cultural competency. In our textbook, Barr explains that it is important to understand how race and ethnicity are used and what they mean in order to potentially reduce health disparities in our society. We often refer to race and ethnicity as one in the same, but they actually have very distinct differences. “Race is associated with biology, whereas ethnicity is associated with culture.” (Live science, 2014) Race can be described as having common ancestry and as having common physical features or ethnic backgrounds. Ethnicity is described as having common characteristics such as race, culture, or religion. It is also based on the use of sharing a common …show more content…
Culture competency is important because without it, neither individuals nor organizations would be able to function effectively or meet the needs of their consumers and communities. It can be defined as “a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency or among professionals and enable that system, agency or those professions to work effectively in cross-cultural situations.” (NCCC, 2014) This week’s readings, discussions, and related materials helped us to gain a better understanding of each term and understand the significance each term has with health disparities. Our assigned reading of The Spirit That Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman was an epitome of how not being culturally competent can lead to racial and ethnic disparities in care. The story of Lia and her family even though it had a …show more content…
Not only do I now understand the importance of knowing how race and ethnicity are used, but I know what they mean and how they can potentially reduce health disparities in society. I was one of those persons who would use the terms interchangeably. I knew that they were not exactly the same, but because they were very similar I never really thought about their differences and how they could have an impact on health disparities. I now understand that race and ethnicity can contribute different information about individuals and their health status. I had previous knowledge of what cultural competence was and how it can create barriers to health care. However, after reading The Spirit That Catches You and You Fall Down I feel I have a better and more visual understanding of how cultural differences can interfere with the quality of care and contribute to racial and ethnic disparities. It was very interesting to read a non-fictional story about how not being culturally competent can have negative effects on the ability of American doctors to provide appropriate healthcare to individuals or groups with different values, beliefs, or
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures shares the journey of cultural illiteracy from the Hmong and American side. Fadiman states, “In 1995, for the first time, the national guidelines for training psychiatry residents stipulated that they learn to assess cultural influences on their patients’ problems,” (Fadiman 270). Though the unfortunate events that occurred were definitely able to avoid now, at the time, there was no standard set of actions and procedures to take in order to provide the best health care to different cultures. Fadiman truly succeeded in showing the reader that good intentions and compassion must be weighed more heavily when analyzing events and the consequences must be met with an objective eye.
As part of my Culture, Health and Illness class, I undertook a critical analysis of the book “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures” by Anne Fadiman. This book was published in 1997, and documents the struggle of a Hmong family from Laos in communicating with and understanding the American health system.
In the novel, “The spirit catches you and you fall down”, Anne Fadiman was brilliantly able to capture how communication between other cultures takes place in the medical community. She writes about the experience of a Hmong family, the Lee’s, to portray the dissimilarities between two distinct cultures, Hmong and American. Throughout the novel she takes us on a rollercoaster of a journey as problems arise due to many barriers that naturally occur when collaborating two very divergent ways of life. Unfortunately the journey she takes us on does not come with a happy ending as we all expect. the edifying friction between the young girl’s parents and her doctors caused her to wasted away because of medical conditions, epilepsy and septic shock, which could have been treatable. Nevertheless, although Fadiman’s book depicts an unambiguous state of affairs, it is an eye opener to the nuisance of cultural conflict that can be practical to all circumstances and can be utilized by all nurses to provide cultural competent care.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down has challenged me to start thinking about different ways to approach cultural barriers. Using the Lee family and Lia as an example, the book identifies the challenges that the family faced over the years and the challenges that the providers experienced as well. As a result, the book highlights the need for cross-cultural communication in medicine, in an attempt to eliminate the barriers faced by both parties.
Smedley, B. D. (2012). The Lived Experience of Race and Its Health Consequences. The Science of Research on Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Health, 102(May), 933.
Let’s begin with what is the Culture? It is defined as “the shared knowledge and schemes created by a set of people for perceiving, interpreting, expressing, and responding to the social realities around them" Lederach, J.P. (1995). Now let’s understand what cultural competence is. It can be defined as “the ability to honor and respect the beliefs, language, interpersonal styles, and behaviors of individuals and families receiving services, as well as staff who are
Share the story of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures.
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...
Wells, M. I. (2000). Beyond cultural competence: A model for individual and institutional cultural development. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 17(4), 189-199.
Cultural Competence is important for many reasons. First, it can help develop culturally sensitive practices which can in turn help reduce barriers that affect treatment in health care settings. Second, it can help build understanding, which is critical in competence, in order wards knowing whom the person recognizes as a health care professional and whom they views as traditional healer, can aid the development of trust and improve the individual’s investment and participation in treatment. Third, our population in the United States is not only growing quickly but also changing, cultural competence will allow us as educators and healthcare workers keep up wi...
Cultural competency is a very significant necessity in health care today and the lack of it in leadership and in the health workforce, is quite pressing. The lack of cultural competency can bring about dire consequences such as racial and ethnic disparities in health care. It may not be the sole reason for these disparities, but it certainly places a significant role. A patient and health care provider relationship is very significant and can make or break the quality of care that is given. The lack of cultural competency leads to poor communication which then leads to those of diverse backgrounds to feel either unheard or just plain misunderstood. As an East African
As a working nurse on an acute behavioral health unit, emergency department, case management, cultural awareness is crucial when treating a diverse population of patients. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (OMH), cultural competence is, “is a set of behaviors, attitudes, and skills that enables nurses to work effectively in cross-cultural situations” (Garcia, 2007, p. 1). It is important for nurses to deliver culturally competent and appropriate care to patients due to the perpetually growing culture of diversity. My workplace is located in Orange, California. Demographically, the city is made up of 47 percent Caucasian, 38 percent Hispanic, 11 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, 1 percent Black, and 3 percent other races. I am an American-Filipino, born and raised in California, and identify with the 11 percent Asian/Pacific Islander group. It is necessary that working nurses have cultural awareness and the skills necessary to service patients of any race or ethnicity. We can do this by educating ourselves and being mindful of all different cultures.
Cultural awareness is defined as, “an in-depth self-examination of ones own background, recognizing biases, prejudices, and assumptions about other people” (Potter, Perry, Stockert, & Hall, 2013). Having biases can cause a person to act of have certain feelings towards a group of people without realizing it. To a person that does not understand a certain group or culture, some rituals may be observed as superstitious or odd, but to the participant that ritual may be of high importance or a way of healing (Ferweda, 2016). Understanding these practices and learning about why they are performed is a good way to prevent biased views. People from racially and diverse groups suffer with increased rates of illness and disabilities due to lack of healthcare access and education compared to other populations (Loftin, C., Hartin, V., Branson, M., & Reyes, H., 2013). One of the essential interventions to reverse this is education for nurses about how to achieve culturally competent care in the nursing profession (Loftin, C., Hartin, V., Branson, M., & Reyes, H.,
Cultural competence in health care provision refers to the capacity of health care systems to offer good care to patients and accommodate employees, who have diverse beliefs, behaviors, and values to meet their cultural, linguistic, and social needs. It comprises of policies, attitudes, and behaviors that integrate to form a system that can operate efficiently in cross cultural conditions. Healthcare organizations look at cultural competence from two major viewpoints. Firstly, it is a tool to enhance patient care from all backgrounds, social groups, languages, religions, and beliefs. Secondly, it is a tool that strategically attracts potential clients to their organizations and, hence, expands
Miller, Leininger, Leuning, Pacquiao, Andrews, and Ludwig-Beyer, (2008) support that the skill of cultural competency in nursing is the ability to gather relevant cultural data on the presenting problem of the patient. This cultural assessment is defined as a "...