Premium Essay

The Differences in Health Traditions Between Cultures

In:

Submitted By norwalk
Words 1178
Pages 5
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 in America for seventeen years now, I still use herbal remedies. For example, when I notice signs and symptoms of the common cold I will quickly make herbal soup, which contains different spices and herbs. This is a common practice in my culture. Is very effective due to our belief and is considered the first line of defense to attack the cold virus. I could choose to continue using that or

Similar Documents

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 Assesment

...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 see...

Words: 1260 - Pages: 6

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

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

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

Free Essay

Family Health Assessment

...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 nine questions...

Words: 1455 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Multicultural Communication

...faster and easier, interaction between people of different cultures has become more and more common. It was once the case that different cultures remained mostly separate from each other, whether due to war, geographic reasons, or beliefs in keeping ethnic purity. Trade and immigration have brought together people of diverse cultures and backgrounds, making communication between people of different cultures unavoidable. Compare and contrast culture, ethnicity, and acculturation. The society a person grows up in has certain norms, traditions, beliefs, language and dialects, values and acceptable behaviors, religious influences, modes of dress, music, dance, and many other aspects of daily life that together form the culture of that society. This differs from a person’s ethnicity, which simply refers to his genetic background. Acculturation refers to people of other cultures assimilating with new cultures. As people immigrate to different countries, they may gradually adopt some of the norms and traditions of their new society. Often the older generations will retain more of the traditions of their original culture, while their children, who are exposed in more ways to the new culture through education, friendships, entertainment, etc., will absorb more traits of the new culture. Explain how culture and religious differences affect the health care professional and the issues that can arise in cross-cultural communications. Different cultures have deeply held beliefs that may...

Words: 1174 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Family Assessment

...Running head: Family Health Assessment Family Health Assessment Teresa A. Harris Grand Canyon University NRS 429V Family Health Promotion June 2, 2011 Family Health Assessment I had the pleasure of interviewing an interesting young couple with an eight year-old daughter who were all very willing to answer my questions openly and honest. The following areas were addressed. Health Perception & Management: The possibility of delays due to her prematurity is what Mom worries most about. She answered “no” when I asked whether or not she allowed smoking in her home and “yes” when I asked it she felt that her health practices contribute to her child’s health. Nutrition: Dinner for this family usually consists of a vegetarian protein replacement, a green vegetable, a starch and water. Sitting down at the dinner table together is a priority. The usual packed lunch contains a sandwich, fruit, vegetable, and water or juice. Elimination: There are no problems with constipation in this family. All three members are able to have a bowel movement in a bathroom other than their own. When asked if Mom or Dad take time to relax in the bathroom if need be, the answer was “yes.” Exercise: The adults in this household do not feel that they prioritize exercise as much as they should, although they do encourage their daughter to participate in organized sports. Mom stated that lack of exercise contributes to childhood obesity and heart disease, but can have a positive psychological...

Words: 2227 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Heritage

...Assessment Heritage is who we are, where we come from, it’s our history.   Traditionally the word heritage means one back ground or tradition.   Each individual’s heritage varies between different cultures and consists of determination of one’s ethnic, religious, and cultural background (Spector, 2009).   The heritage assessment tool helps healthcare professionals evaluate someone’s physical, mental, and spiritual beliefs which in turn helps with determining traditional health methods such as health maintenance, health protection, and health restoration.   It also helps in opening a pathway for effective communication between the patient and health care provider to understand ones culture, beliefs, as well as their health traditions.   The greater the person’s identification with a traditional heritage, the greater number of positive responses they will have on the assessment (Spector, 2009).   This paper will compare three heritages Hispanic, African American, and Chinese looking at the difference between health methods and traditions and will also assess the author’s heritage.   Health maintenance is how one manages their health by preventing and promoting good health.   The Hispanic cultures hold a very strong religious belief.   The majority come from a Catholic background and relies heavily on God and prayer.   They sometimes view good health as a reward from God and illness as a punishment for wrongdoing.   Hispanics are very family oriented going beyond the nuclear family...

Words: 298 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Heritage Assessment

...Families To deliver high quality health care services to an increasingly diverse population, it is vital to be culturally competent. This approach is especially applicable in the United States where a big part of the population consists of immigrants coming from all over the world (Edelman, Kudzma, & Mandle, 2014). This is where the Heritage Assessment Tool (HAT) becomes very appropriate. It helps when assessing one’s ethnic, religious, and cultural heritage along with health traditions. By evaluating heritage assessment questionnaire, healthcare providers can cultivate a therapeutic relationship and approach in care. The following paper will discuss the usefulness of applying the HAT when evaluating three culturally diverse families. The Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and European White Origin Americans will be compared to identify the differences in health maintenance, health protection, and health restoration. Lastly, common health traditions and practices will be discussed. HAT delivers an informative approach that helps to identify the best care that can be provided to culturally diverse populations. It consists of 29 questions that are focused on identifying a patient’s cultural background, family relations, religious practices, and beliefs along with social support. It helps to highly increase the knowledge of culturally-based health beliefs and practices. By taking time and performing the HAT, the nurse learns about the patient’s culture which enables self-growth...

Words: 2040 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Heritage Assessment

...Heritage Assessment Heritage is who we are, where we come from, it’s our history. Traditionally the word heritage means one back ground or tradition. Each individual’s heritage varies between different cultures and consists of determination of one’s ethnic, religious, and cultural background (Spector, 2009). The heritage assessment tool helps healthcare professionals evaluate someone’s physical, mental, and spiritual beliefs which in turn helps with determining traditional health methods such as health maintenance, health protection, and health restoration. It also helps in opening a pathway for effective communication between the patient and health care provider to understand ones culture, beliefs, as well as their health traditions. The greater the person’s identification with a traditional heritage, the greater number of positive responses they will have on the assessment (Spector, 2009). This paper will compare three heritages Hispanic, African American, and Chinese looking at the difference between health methods and traditions and will also assess the author’s heritage. Health maintenance is how one manages their health by preventing and promoting good health. The Hispanic cultures hold a very strong religious belief. The majority come from a Catholic background and relies heavily on God and prayer. They sometimes view good health as a reward from God and illness as a punishment for wrongdoing. Hispanics are very family oriented going beyond the nuclear family and...

Words: 1212 - Pages: 5

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

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