Heritage Assessment Health Tradition and Cultural Comparison

Sharon Nodine
Grand Canyon University: NRS-429V
March 20, 2016

“A growing realization that the United States is not a ‘melting pot’ in which immigrants assimilate into the mainstream culture, but a country of many cultures has led to a growing appreciation of different ethno-cultural groups” (EuroMed Info, n.d.).

The Heritage Tool and it’s five competencies is designed to provide a framework for nurses to gain insight of the cultural practices of patients in order to provide culturally competent care that will result in better health outcomes (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2008).

The Hispanic-American Assessment “Latinos comprise nearly 16 percent of the U.S. population, and this proportion is anticipated to increase to 30 percent by 2050” (Juckett, 2013). He continues to say, barriers to care have resulted in striking disparities in quality of health care for these patients. These barriers include language, lack of insurance, different cultural beliefs, and in some cases, illegal immigration status, mistrust, and illiteracy. The National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services address these concerns with recommendations for culturally competent care, language services, and organizational support. Latinos have disproportionately higher rates of obesity and diabetes mellitus (Juckett, 2013).

Heritage Assessment When interviewing E.G., several of her responses were supportive of Hispanic culture. She stated the questions were difficult to answer because she was adopted at birth by her aunt. There was considerable hesitation and laughter before answering questions. E.G. has a good command of the English language