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Faith Diversity

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Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity Members of the healthcare team come in contact with a diverse multi-cultural environment on a daily basis. Every individual is just that an individual with a different worldview and varying faith background. To some individual’s, religion plays a very important role in their daily lives, while to others it may not seem to play a very big role. Newsweek (2009) polls since 1992 show religion is fairly to very important in the lives of 85% of people (as cited in Ashcraft, Anthony, & Mancuso, 2010). Numbers this high show that religion plays a major role to many and with that healthcare providers need to be aware of their own beliefs, while maintaining a respectful and supportive environment for the patients they are caring for and their beliefs. Patients along with nurses often look to their faith when in times of stress and illness. This paper will discuss the Native American spirituality philosophy compared to the Christian philosophy.
Native American Spirituality
According to the United States census (2000) “4.3 million people (1.5% of the total United States population) self-identified as American Indian or Alaska Native (as cited in Hubbert, 2008). Native American healing practices may include traditional healers such as medicine men and women, herbalists, and shaman who work to return the individual to optimal health. Rituals of healing and purification ceremonies, sand painting, spiritual chants, dancing, therapeutic sings, along with special herbs, teas, foods and activities may be participated in (Braswell & Wong, 1994). Their perspective is healing should be a combination of both the spiritual and the physical. Lacking an understanding of Native American health as holistic in mind, body, spirit, and nature as one in harmony and where illness is seen as a disruption within this harmony will hinder appropriate

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