Cultural Competence

Culture and Cultural Competency in Health Promotion
Valsamma Xavi
Grand Canyon University:
NRS 429V Family and Health Promotion
09-13-2014

In today’s society, nurses interact and care for many individuals from various cultures. Nurses are responsible for understanding and valuing culture and upholding the rights and dignity of each individual. Cultural competence can be defined as “the level of knowledge-based skills required to provide effective clinical care to patients from a particular ethnic or racial group” (Bureau of Health Professions, 2004). Cultural competence requires the nurse to distinguish their own beliefs, in addition to those of the patients and to learn to be sensitive to patient’s cultural needs. Using the heritage assessment tool and interviewing individuals from three different cultural backgrounds we can see how cultural competence can help in health promotion. I was born and raised in India, and lived there for over half my life and then I migrated to the United States. Although we have lived here for over twenty years, many of the traditions which we practiced in India are still practiced within our family today. When I grew up in India, I remember having friends from various religions and different ethnic groups. I remember waking up to the smell of my mother’s tea and the sound of the animals in our farm. My family is a strong Roman Catholic family, and we all prayed together to God to keep us in good health. To this day, my family are believers of the Roman Catholic faith and we still hold those traditions strong. One of the herbs we grew in our farm was turmeric, which we used for many different things in our life, like applying it to treat acne or taking it orally to boost our immune system. For restoration of health, there were practices that did full body massages along with herbal medicines and oils to help blood circulation and muscle strength. Also, there were many Indians who participated in yoga which was used for both mental and physical strengthening. My mother always used to add ginger and black pepper into coffee and serving it to me when I was sick along with many other traditional remedies. Nowadays, whenever my children get sick, they ask me for the same old recipes for these traditional remedies. In the Filipino culture, the influence of many other cultures left its mark and is very apparent. I was talking to one of my Filipino co-workers, Gladys Senerpida, who explained to me how the Filipino culture works and where the influences came from. Gladys was raised a Roman Catholic, which is the most predominant religion in the Philippines. Similar to my family, Gladys remembers praying together for the families overall good health and safety. Filipino cuisine is one of the most diverse with western and Asian influences. There are many occasions where she will bring the famous pancit, a noodles dish mixed with meat or vegetables. Daily exercise is another important cultural value Filipinos import from other cultures, Chinese martial arts, such as tai chi, and yoga such as Indians practice. The Philippines, similar to India, has a very natural based tradition when it comes to restoring health. In India, Ayurveda massage was the mixture of massage, meditation, and consuming herbal products to cure disease and relieve pain. In the Philippines, there are many herbal remedies for pain relief such as, bayabas leaves used for many different skin conditions and also known for its antiseptic properties. Just like we used to have our coffee with ginger and black pepper, Filipinos use calamondin fruit in their green tea as cough medicine and as an anti-inflammatory. Many other herbal remedies are used to heal diseases that have been put into the Philippine culture, such as ginseng, an herb widely used for its digestive, and sedative properties (Baringer 2006). As a Texan resident for more than twenty years, I have met many of Hispanics living around us. I learned a few traditional practices from my co-worker, Delores Barrera. Delores is also a strong believer of the Roman Catholic faith and comes from a family who holds the Catholic traditions and beliefs very seriously. According to Delores, some Hispanic people consider health just as a sign of good luck, and others believe that it is a sort of reward for good deeds. This is somewhat similar to the teachings of Hinduism and Buddhism’s, Karma. “Illness is seen as an imbalance in an individual’s body or as a punishment out for wrongdoing” (Spector, 2009, p. 288) Religion plays a very important role in Mexican culture and the religious mass and rituals were viewed as the best way to maintain and protect health. For example, saying prayers, visiting holy places, and offering money and candles to God was stressed to Delores when she was growing up in Mexico. Herbal remedies and non-Christian rituals were considered to being bad spirits but rituals were still performed for the ill. Comparing the cultures, It seems as though the Indian and Philippine cultures both believe in herbal treatment and exercise, but in the Hispanic traditions, there is very little emphasis put on herbs and exercise. In Indian culture, the customs, beliefs, and traditions are passed down from each generation. When I first immigrated to the United States, I was worried that these traditions would die off, but we still practice many of these traditional ways of maintain health. My children love to drink honey and lemon tea mixed with ginger and black pepper when they have a cough. We still ask God for protection, pray and eat traditional meals together as a family, just as I did with my family in India. Nursing is a profession that is dedicated to the care of individuals, families, and the communities they are involved in and brining optimal health to them. When I take care of a patient, I consider them as one of my own family members but also respect their own culture. Learning to be sensitive to others culture is very important, but also understanding your own culture to distinguish them. In conclusion, being culturally competent means to be able to make this distinction and to learn how to be respectful of others cultures and beliefs. This heritage assessment helps us to absorb more about health traditions amongst diverse cultures and their practices to maintain, and restore health.

Reference
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions, retrieved from http://www.bhpr.hrsa.gov/diversity/cultcomp.htm on April 2, 2004.
Baringer, Sally E. Countries and their Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2014. .
Huff, R. M., & Kline, M. V. (2008, May 16). Health Promotion in Context of Culture. Retrieved September 15, 2014, from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/23214_Chapter_1.pdf
Spector, R. E. (2009). Cultural Diversity in Health and Illness (Seventh ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.