Premium Essay

Differences in Health Traditions and Cultures

In:

Submitted By preemae10
Words 1303
Pages 6
Differences in Health Traditions and Cultures Growing diversity in the United States is veracity in the 21st century. Undeniable proof on poor quality of health care provided to ethnic and racial minorities of all ages, compared to non-minorities, were provided by The Institute of Medicine. Attempts to remove health inequalities rising from differences in culture should concentrate on creating patient-clinician reliance relationships, knowing the cultural surrounding conditions of health responses and humanizing one’s consideration to cultural differences in association with the administrative process and preferences in health care (Schmidt, 2012). Discussing the usefulness of applying a heritage evaluation in assessing the requirements of the whole person is helpful in looking at one’s roots and hereditary. The prominent sociable society in the world has raised worry on modified attention in health care. The cultural surroundings of an organization or society have extensive result on management and power of health care issues, which is necessary. The rise in public responsiveness to the support of firm health and disease anticipation has encouraged the formation of method that makes it easier for professionals in healthcare to know the people in their care. Implementing Heritage Assessment tool is one of the mechanisms to get back the attributes of a person before administrating health involvement (Edelman & Mandle, 2010).

As a person from Indian background, my opinion is that, practices, way of life and habitual attitude towards health, are diverse and are precise depending on the region or area. Indians are well known for treating and enduring guests without considering their economic status, race, and religious practices. The elderly in India are under the belief that health and wealth are closely related with body, soul and mind. Mental health

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

The Differences in Health Traditions Between Cultures

...The Differences in Health Traditions between Cultures Each individual has an exclusively cultural heritage attachment that is comprised of a lot of different customs and values. It is almost impossible for anyone or group of people to live everyday by not practicing according to their beliefs or cultural background. Being born to a person depending on whom they are or where they live means so much in some cultures. For example, I was born into a family where my parents were both educated and good practicing Catholics. This automatically puts me in a middle class family or made my statues a little higher than so many people whose parents are not educated. I consider myself fortunate and that is mostly why I am always humble in life. I was born in the eastern part of Nigeria; the westerners and the northerners make up the rest of the population. Nigeria is the largest country in West Africa; most of the people are farmers and could not afford to go to college and at least get a formal education. In my culture, not many people could afford to go to a hospital for health reasons. Instead, more people rely heavily on herbal medicine, which is part of our tradition. Some people use modern medicine depending on what their families could afford. Growing up in the mist of both traditions, I have learned to practice not only one but two of them respectively. I believe that one’s heritage or culture is a practice no one can afford to forget because it is embedded into our lives. Living...

Words: 1178 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Heritage Assesment

...in the economic, social and health promotion of an individual. The use of heritage assessment tools helps people to evaluate someone’s heritage, as well as traditional health methods used to maintain health, protect health, and restore health; Heritage assessment tool is very useful for the health care professionals when they are dealing with a person’s physical, mental, and spiritual beliefs. Every person has a cultural heritage and their views are different too. Different cultures have different values and beliefs of health, disease and treatment. By knowing these cultural competencies we can provide a holistic approach care to their health. This tool helps both the patient and the health care provider by opening a pathway for an effective communication of one’s own values and beliefs, in regards to health and illness. Culture is an inherited quality and it includes beliefs, knowledge and custom. The basic role of cultural heritage is bringing people together and respects the cultural diversities. The tool helps to understand heritage assessment of a person according to how deeply he answered the question. Interview of Three Different Families Knowledge about traditional culture makes people aware about their health maintenance, protection and restoration of the health. The main purpose of this study is to compare the differences of Indian, Hispanic and Kenyan heritage and health tradition. While comparing the differences in health tradition between three families, we can...

Words: 1260 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Bobo

...Heritage Assessment: Comparing Cultural Differences Between Diverse Families Rashawn Llewellyn Grand Canyon University: NRS-429V 01/24/2016 Heritage Assessment: Comparing Cultural Differences Between Diverse Families Understanding the differences and similarities of cultures can be a challenging task for many. Nurses interact directly or indirectly with individuals and families of different backgrounds daily. The biggest concern for many health professionals is to provide the best care to their patients in order to achieve or progress towards health. With this goal nurses have to understand that caring for patients have to be individualized as cultures have differences, even those who have the same culture can adhere to traditions differently. This can be very challenging for many Healthcare providers especially in the United States of America as this country was developed on many immigrants working together as one. The most important key as a nurse is having the skills and understanding to approach and provide care individually based on the beliefs and values of their patient, this will aid to meet the patient wishes. With the help of the Heritage Assessment Tool we are able to get a more detailed look at how closely certain individual or families adhere to their traditional values. [[NEEDS A THESIS STATEMENT HERE: “In this essay, the author will…”]] Heritage Assessment Tool The Heritage Assessment Tool is a questionnaire made up of 29 questions which helps when...

Words: 1532 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Heritage Assessment of Three Culturally Diverse Families

...America’s diverse population demands that health care workers be culturally competent (Edelman et al, 2014). In order to be culturally competent, the patient’s health traditions should be addressed as they relate to their ethnicity, religion, and heritage. This can be achieved by completion of the Heritage Assessment Tool (HAT). The Heritage Assessment Tool allows health care professionals, especially nurses, to have improved patient-nurse relationships and allows the patient to be treated as a whole being with respect to their beliefs and traditions. This paper will discuss the usefulness of applying the HAT as it evaluates the needs of three diverse families. The families of Vietnamese Americans, Mexican Americans, and Italian Americans will be discussed to identify the differences in health maintenance, health protection, and health restoration. The families’ health traditions based on their cultural heritage will also be identified. Usefulness of Applying the Heritage Assessment Tool The Heritage Assessment tool evaluates the degree to which an individual lives by their cultural beliefs and traditions. The questionnaire contains 29 questions to help determine if a person is traditional in their culture or if they are more acculturated with less compliance to their traditional practices. The questions examine family relationships, religious beliefs, ethnic traditions and beliefs. The tool brings awareness to the many culturally based health beliefs and practices. The HAT allows...

Words: 1363 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Heritage Assessment

...The Influence of Heritage on Current Culture Evaluation of how family subscribes to these traditions and practices is offered in detail, while offering insight and/or reflection.It is essential for nurses to provide culturally sensitive care to each and every patient in order to establish repor and maintain a safe working relationship with each individual. To provide culturally sensitive care to a nurses patient’s he or she must first assess their own beliefs, values, and culture at large. The nurse can do this by using the Heritage Assessment Tool. This tool shows the nurse how important their heritage is to them and if they have adopted their ways of life from their family’s history and influence. This gives the nurse a starting point for his or her own competency because once the nurse knows their own beliefs they will know what to keep in mind as their own biases that may hinder or limit care of their patients. The Heritage Assessment tool can then be used with the nurses’ patients in assessing how much they follow their cultural heritage. When interviewing families from different cultures one can see the disparities between them and their perception of their health maintenance, health protection, and health restoration. Applying the Heritage Assessment in Evaluating the Needs of the Whole Person The Heritage Assessment is a useful tool in evaluating the needs of the patient and in being able to provide holistic patient care. The Heritage Assessment Tool assesses whether...

Words: 1627 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Heritage Tool

... HERITAGE ASSESSMENT TOOL Heritage refers to practices, beliefs and traditions that are passed down through the years, from one generation to the next. In the United States, one finds people from all over the world. This diversity results in different cultures and traditions. As health care providers, one has to be aware of and be sensitive of a person’s traditions, values, and beliefs as these influence the patient’s behavior and attitudes towards healthcare practices. “A cultural competent health system must incorporate the importance of cultural assessment and provide nurses with tools that will help them with their planning care and treating patients from different cultures” p.16 (Green & Reinckens, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the usefulness of the Heritage Assessment Tool to evaluate the needs of a person as a whole; identify and evaluate common health practices based on cultural beliefs and values of three different families from Mexico, Philippines and China and how they subscribe to these traditions and practices to address their familys’ health maintenance, health protection and health recovery. The writer will include her culture as well. Efficacy of Heritage Assessment Tool The Heritage Assessment Tool is useful to evaluate the cultural needs and health traditions of a person. The assessment consists on a set of questions that explores a person’s ethnicity, traditions, language, religion, food, and family values. By applying the Heritage...

Words: 1442 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Heritage Assessment Tool: Evaluation of Different Cultures and Individual Views of Health

...Running head: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT TOOL: EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT Heritage Assessment Tool: Evaluation of Different Cultures and Individual Views of Health Micaela Simon Grand Canyon University Family-Centered Health Promotion 429V Melanie Escobar RN MSN August 31, 2012 Heritage Assessment Tool: Evaluation of different Cultures and Individual Views of Health The Heritage Assessment Tool can be used as as a reliable tool to assess, health maintenance, protection and restoration of individual cultural beliefs. This evaluation helps meet the needs of different patient populations to provide quality holistic care. The purpose of this paper is to explore the Hispanic, Native American, Chinese, and the author’s own personal cultural beliefs from perspectives of health traditions, maintenance, promotion and restoration of health. The objectives are to identify different families and the own common health traditions based of the cultural heritage. Evaluate and discuss how the families ascribe to traditions and practices. The evaluation of these different cultures reveal similarities and differences in traditions that may help provide holistic optimal health delivery. The definition of cultural awareness is an individual’s awareness of their understanding between themselves and other backgrounds, attitudes to health and specific cultural values (Cultural awareness, n.d). Cultural competence refers to knowledge and skills that must be obtained to care for culturally...

Words: 1319 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Heritage Assessment

...Health traditions between cultures vary according to the heritage a family is part of. The Heritage Assessment Tool helps evaluate the family whom is interviewed in order to develop a plan for health maintenance, health protection, and health restoration. Each culture offers a different set of traditions and beliefs that contribute to the health care practices they participate in and how the traditions of that heritage are incorporated into the health practices present in the United States. The three families that were interviewed using the Heritage Assessment Tool were families from Native American Indian ancestry, Mexican ancestry, and Portuguese ancestry. All three families were born and raised in the United States, but their ancestors were from other countries, except the Native American family. Although these families were born and raised in the United States, they still carried on some of the traditions from their ancestors. There are many similarities within the three cultures above. All three cultures are family oriented, family is considered to be very important and family gatherings to celebrate holidays and rituals are huge gatherings that involve all the relatives old and young. It is common for these cultures to have large families; it is not unusual to have more than just the immediate family living in the home. In Mexican, Portuguese, and American Indian households, other family members also live in the same household. All three cultures also have many differences...

Words: 2293 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Heritage Health Assessment

...Heritage Health Assessment Tracy Shrum Grand Canyon University Heritage Health Assessment A complete health assessment needs to take into consideration a family’s risk factors by exploring their lifestyle, biological and environmental factors, social, psychological, cultural and spiritual dimensions that all impact their health care. The nurse’s role with families is to educate on preventive health services, raise awareness of modifiable risk factors and assist the family in influencing healthy behaviors within their family. (Edelman & Mandle, 2010) One resource utilized to assess heritage’s influence on health is a 29 question heritage assessment tool that examines who you are, your heritage and how closely a person identifies with their traditional heritage.(Spector, 2009) “This tool is very useful in setting the stage for assessing and understanding a person’s traditional health and illness beliefs and practices and compare them to one’s inconsistent heritage, the greater the number of positive responses, the greater the person’s identification with a traditional heritage.” Heritage consists of four major components that affect one’s health care beliefs socialization, culture, religion and ethnicity. (Spector, 2009) Upon completing the heritage assessment tool, I realized I do not practice currently in the cultural foundation my parents promoted for my family. I was raised in a religious home with my parents practicing Pentecostal religious beliefs. Even though...

Words: 1398 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Linda's Heritage Assessment Paper

... Cultural differences abound in America today. Approaches to health also differ from one culture to another. People are shaped by their traditions and use traditional ways to satisfy their needs for better health (Agec, 2012). America is a melting pot of different cultures. This cultural diversity comes with differences in health traditions and health decisions. It could be a religious approach to health or a cultural tradition. Health has a different meaning for different people. So, everyone has a different approach to his or her health ( Alpa, 2007). Cultural heritage is an important of one’s economic, social and health issues. It helps one understand someone else’s health heritage, as well as traditional health methods that are used to maintain, protect, and restore health. Applying these concepts makes it easier to deal with a person’s physical, mental, and spiritual beliefs. Different cultures have different values and beliefs of health, disease, illness, birth, and death. It is essential to open a pathway for the effective communication of others values and beliefs, in regards to health, illness, family support as well as spiritual values ( Agec, 2012). Health concerns though practiced in all traditions, varies among different cultures. To become aware of another’s culture and health traditions can enable one to better understand and respect another’s cultural traditions, health concerns and issues. ...

Words: 1159 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Heritage Assessment

...Heritage Assessment: Cultural Differences Jennifer L. Moul Grand Canyon University: NRS-429V March 30, 2014 Heritage Assessment: Cultural Differences Heritage assessment tools are used as a guide to assist in developing plans based on an indivudals cultural assssement. Heritage assessment tools prompt the interviewer to ask questions that pertain to their family’s background such as parent origins, race, relgious beliefs, customs, and practices. Gaining knowledge of an individual’s background will allow a health care professional to build plans that will be achievable. Achieving optimal health requires assessment and treating the individual human being. Reflecting on Jean Watson’s theory around caring, “Theory specifically involves the caring of a person’s mind, body, and soul” (Zerwekh & Claborn, 2009). Watson’s 10 carative factors represent the human caring values, the following factors are essential and necessary to understand and treat the whole-human being: Maintain humanistic view, Promote faith and hope, sensitivity of oneself and others, development of trust, acceptance of feelings positive or negative, systematic approach to problem solving, teaching and learning, create a healing environment, support the gratification of needs, allow for spiritualism. Recognizing the Most Precious and Powerful Source is the Human Being (Edelman, Mandel, & Elizabeth. 2014), defines culture “as an element of ethnicity, refers to integrated patterns of human behavior that...

Words: 1026 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Cultural Diversities Acknowledged Thru Heritage Assessment Tool

...Streater GCU Family-Centered Health Promotion NRS-429V Hortense Turner March 23, 2012 Cultural Diversities Acknowledge Thru Heritage Assessment Tool Cultural diversities have facilitated challenges with in health care. To educate our clients there must be recognition of traditional heritage practices. The Heritage Assessment Tool has been devised to discover cultural characteristics of individuals, families along with communities. This tool allows one to understand and respect the role of cultural awareness in health and illness. There is a framework for evaluation of physical, mental and spiritual values and beliefs in which outlines health maintenance, protection, and restoration. The difference in values and beliefs grants an impact on wellness, disease and death in selected cultures. Upon assessing heritages there has been an overview of religion, ethnic background, language and an identification of support systems. Information has been gathered to present cultural lifestyles, traditions and health practices in a nonsterotypical manner. Utilizing the Heritage assessment tool this paper will reflect the cultural heritage of three different cultural practices .The three cultural diverse backgrounds, which will be discussed, are Hispanics, Filipinos (Asians) and Southern Afro Americans in which the later describes the writer’s heritage. There will be an acknowledged awareness of health maintenance, protection and restoration. Common health traditions will be identified along...

Words: 1190 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Family Health Assessment

...Heritage Assessment: Evaluation of families, cultures and views on health Anniemae Stubbs Grand Canyon University Culture and Cultural Competency in Health Promotion NURS 429 Professor Alma Celaya June 19, 2016 Heritage Assessment: Evaluation of families , cultures and views on health Cultural Heritage is a concept that is passed on from one generation to the next that depicts how people live, act, behave, or think. It can be a noticeable or vague manifestation. It includes various customs, traditions, practices, values and belief (ICOMOS, 2002). Heritage can be identified through relics, structure, sceneries, foodstuffs, clothing, linguistic and religious ceremonials. Cultural heritage is important to civilization and is needed for identity and self-realization. In nursing it is important to have self-awareness and process knowledge of the various diverse cultures in order to administer holistic care to each patient (Edelman & Greiner, 2010). Data can be acquired and utilized by health professionals to render unbiased and safe care. This can be done by conducting a heritage assessment using the heritage assessment tool. The Heritage assessment tool is a guide utilized by professionals to attain information which helps set specific goals that is patient centered prior to delivering health care (Spector 2000). A heritage assessment was done on three families from my local community the differences in health traditions and practices were compared between them. Twenty...

Words: 1455 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Heritage Assessment

...Heritage Assessment Culture is a pattern of behavior and values shared by an ethnic group. Cultural heritage is a set of traditions within the culture that is hand down from the older generation to the younger generation within the family. These traditions influence the family’s decisions in relation to their diet, education, daily living activities, religious beliefs and practices and also health and illness beliefs. In this paper, the author will focus on the usefulness of applying a heritage assessment in evaluating the needs of a person as a whole. Three different cultures including authors will be discussed about the health maintenance, health promotion, and health restoration. The author will also evaluate health traditions which are based on her own other two families. The evaluation of different culture will reveal similarities and differences in traditions, which can help nurses to provide holistic approach towards care delivery to gain optimal health outcomes. Heritage assessment tool is a very good way in finding out patients’ cultural values and beliefs towards health maintenance, protection, and restoration for a nurse to take a holistic approach towards providing care and education to the patient. In summarizing what the author has learned from the Heritage Assessment Tool (HAT) is that, the author and her husband both were born in a Muslim country and lived there for the best part of their childhood. Her husband migrated to US when he was fifteen and the author...

Words: 1203 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Heritage Assessment Tool

...Assessment Tool: Evaluation of different Cultures and Individual Views of Health The Heritage Assessment Tool can be used as as a reliable tool to assess, health maintenance, protection and restoration of individual cultural beliefs. This evaluation helps meet the needs of different patient populations to provide quality holistic care. The purpose of this paper is to explore the Hispanic, Native American, Chinese, and the author’s own personal cultural beliefs from perspectives of health traditions, maintenance, promotion and restoration of health. The objectives are to identify different families and the own common health traditions based of the cultural heritage. Evaluate and discuss how the families ascribe to traditions and practices. The evaluation of these different cultures reveal similarities and differences in traditions that may help provide holistic optimal health delivery. The definition of cultural awareness is an individual’s awareness of their understanding between themselves and other backgrounds, attitudes to health and specific cultural values (Cultural awareness, n.d). Cultural competence refers to knowledge and skills that must be obtained to care for culturally different backgrounds (Spector, 2008). The Heritage Assessment Tool (HAT) , is a check list used by professionals to gain knowledge of patients culture and beliefs prior to initiating care (Spector 2000). In combination with questions that relate to health beliefs and practices the HAT assessment...

Words: 253 - Pages: 2