Haitians in America

1893 Words4 Pages

During clinical time in the nursing program there are many opportunities for students to explore their new found nursing skills. While engaging in patient care responsibilities there are many languages, customs, values, lifestyles, beliefs, and behaviors that will differ from their own. Each patient may need healthcare providers to consider certain aspects in order to provide culturally competent care. There are many cultures that have migrated to the United States over the years including the people of Haiti. There are many aspects of their healthcare ideals that may need to be considered while providing healthcare in the hospital setting. This cultural assessment will consider the healthcare matters of an 81-year-old woman on the post-surgery floor recovering from a colectomy. Her main diagnosis is Diverticulitis and she has been suffering from this condition for many years. In the case of this research, the woman will be called Elsie. She is from Haiti and has recently migrated from America with her family after the earthquake in January of 2010. Background Information Haiti is located in the Caribbean with Cuba to the northwest, Jamaica to the southwest, and Puerto Rico to the east. Ninety five percent of Haitian people are of African descent (Holcomb, Parsons, Giger, & Davidhizar, 1996). The language spoken by the vast majority of Haitians is Creole. The pronunciation and vocabulary are derived largely from French but the syntax is similar to that of other creoles (Brown, 2010). Haiti is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. In 2010 the population was approximately 9.6 million and is expected to increase to 13.4 million in 2050 (Edwards, 2010). It is also projected that some Haitians may try to flee fro... ... middle of paper ... ...A., Grey, K., & Gonzales-Eastep, D. (2006). Using a multicultural lens to understand illnesses among Haitians living in America. Professional Psychology; Research and Practice, 37(6), Nicolas, G., DeSilva, A., Prater, K., & Bronkoski, E. (2009). Empathic family stress as a sign of family connectedness in Haitian immigrants. Family Process, 48(1), 135-150. Purnell, L. D., & Paulanka, B. J. (2005). Guide to culturally competent health care. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: F.A. Davis Company. Roye, C. F., & Nickitas, D. M. (2010). Haitian nursing: A project in caring. Nursing Economics, 28(5), 293-294. Schwartz, T. (2011). Countries and Their Cultures: Haiti. Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com Wells, M. I. (2000). Beyond cultural competence: A model for individual and institutional cultural development. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 17(4), 189-199.

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