Reflection on Relation Between Culture and Health

Running Head: REFLECTION ON RELATION BETWEEN CULTURE AND HEALTH
REFLECTION ON RELATION BETWEEN CULTURE AND HEALTH
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

Running Head: REFLECTION ON RELATION BETWEEN CULTURE AND HEALTH
On introduction, this essay will discuss the health issue related to a person selected
from the culture group (Torres Strait islander) in Australia. Australian population is divided
in two groups. They are indigenous and non indigenous Australians. Cultural frameworks
will be used later to establish a care strategy. Diabetes type 2 is the disease concerned in this
essay. This diseased condition will be supported by various concepts and theories later in this
essay. The Purnell Model of Cultural Competence (PMCC) theoretical framework will be
used to describe the relationship between health and culture. Torres Straits are indigenous
Australians. The establishment of a safe cultural environment is required to undergo a proper
treatment process. This establishment procedure is also talked about in this paper. Later in
this essay, linkages between the cultural influence and theoretical frameworks, practice
modifications and requirements to achieve a culturally safe environment will also be
discussed.
My client originated from the Torres Strait islander culture group of indigenous
Australians. .Currently, I am practising nursing in Thursday Island Hospital, Australia and
have selected a client for my study. He is fifty-four years old and belongs to Queensland,
Australia. Aboriginal Torres strain constitutes two seventy-four small islands present on the
waterway which separates Australia’s Cape York peninsula from New Guinea. My client
belongs to remote parts of Roma. This place has not got urbanised as major cities of
Australia, located in Queensland. I selected this client because I had previous experiences
with the health issues related to this client. Four weeks earlier, he was admitted to the
hospital. Torres community constitutes the indigenous populations of Australia. They are
mainly lagging than the non-indigenous people because of their living styles and lack of
urbanisation. Christianity is the primary religion of Torres Strain Islanders. Science of
Christianity teaches people to get healed by GOD in case of a diseased condition (Ferngren,
2017). This factor influences the fact of not visiting a hospital after being diseased.

Running Head: REFLECTION ON RELATION BETWEEN CULTURE AND HEALTH
Therefore, the following sections will discuss the health issues associated with my client and
the modifications of practice required to create a culturally safe environment for my client.
Concepts and theories were used to support the diseased condition concluded from
the symptoms. Several symptoms were shown by my client, which helped me to identify the
health issue correctly. The primary sign he was showing was frequent urination. Urination
rate was far more than healthy individuals. The average rate of urination is six to seven times
a day. However, this patient was experiencing frequent urination reported to three litters of
urine excretion per day. Other symptoms included drying of the body increasing thirst, tiring
of body, numbness in hands and feet, vision problems and patches on dark skin. These
physical symptoms first signalled me to reconfirm the disease after he was appointed to me
by the doctor. The disease he was suffering from was Type 2 Diabetes. All the above
symptoms stated earlier are the physical symptoms of diabetes type 2 (Ismail et al., 2017).
According to Schierhout et al., (2016), diabetes type 2 is the most prevalent type of diabetes
prevalent in Torres strait islanders. Type of diabetes was confirmed after his clinical
symptoms were checked after a round of tests. Normal blood sugar levels are around 5.7, and
this patient reported a very high blood sugar level of 6.7. This test result proved a chance of
diabetes type 2, where the mellitus condition occurs. Diabetes mellitus stands for a high
amount of sugar in the blood, along with other diabetic symptoms. In some cases, it can be
seen that secondary diseases start to emerge inside a patients body. These conditions arise
when the human body fails to fight an infection or an illness with their immune system. A
break in the immune system provides the barrier for entry of other diseases. Along with this
issue, he was also experiencing deliriums. At first, this condition was thought to be arising
because of his age. Later it was identified that the patient was also showing symptoms of pre-
Alzheimer's dementia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (Healthdirect.gov.au,
2018), seventy per cent of people living in Australia suffers from mixed conditions of