Issues Affecting Minority Patients in Hospital Care

This research essay explores the issues affecting minority patients in hospital care, including communication problems, socioeconomic factors, and lack of resources. It discusses the importance of cultural competency and offers solutions to improve healthcare outcomes for ethnic minority groups.

Research Essay Outline Use dot points in all sections except the thesis statement and topic sentences.
Research question/topic:
 Research topic: A study to explore issues affecting minority patients in hospital care
 Research question: what are the issues affecting minority patients in hospital care?
Intro.
General:
 In this global world, health professionals are highly being faced with the
problems of giving intercultural healthcare, in order to have a reasonable
solution to the critical situation of ethnic minority patients.
 Globally societies are highly becoming multi-ethnic because of the speed and
changes in modern migration flows. The existence of indigenous populations in
ancient times and the differences among the modern migrant population
makes health cares services to have a lot of problems between different
cultures.
 These problems are primarily caused by differences in health determinants,
needs, and vulnerabilities. In spite of these problems affecting different
cultures, the services being offered by health care personnel should meet the
requirements of being culturally appropriate to every ethnic minority patient.
Thesis statement:
The race is a mere proxy for other health care determinants like biological, social
economic and cultural. Ethnicity being important it can affect the accessibility of care
due to variability. There are many barriers that affect the ethnic minority to access
quality hospital care.
Topic sentence:
The intercultural care in a hospital setting is a great problem because the care
described is acute, basic, and inevitable during the hospitalization process. The chances
of giving good care are faced with problems in including language barriers, lower
health literacy and higher socioeconomic factors in ethnic minority groups, shortage of
hospital resources (time, money and human), variations in understanding sickness and
treatment and negative attitudes among the patient and caregivers.
BP1
1.
 Communication is the key factor in providing care to
patients in the hospital. It's a link between the patient and
health care provider. In a quantitative study done among
the ethnic minority groups in Finland Erikson Backa in 2008
using self-administered questionnaire, the barriers to
communication started both with patients and health care
providers in the process of exchange of information.
 Respondents stated that they were not getting feedback to
their questions about tests and treatment due to language
References used
in this paragraph
(author/date)
Wikberg et Al
(2012)
Essen (2002)
Fenwick (2004)
Higginbottom
(2004)

barriers. Feelings of being inferior, inadequate time of
relaying information and misunderstandings due to
contradicting information.
 El_Amoun and O'Neill (2011) realized the necessity of
translating and orientating different cultures. They
identified materials for translation and capability of
intensively doing an evaluation of the background of
patients and their necessities, providing development to
staff members and providing translators and interpreters in
ethnically diverse cultures.
El-Amoun and
O'Neill (2011)
2.
 A lot of interventions to describe health differences have
come to the cultural factors being the major. Matthew
(2015) identified that socioeconomic factors have a great
impact on the wellness of ethnic minority groups.
3.
 According to Barry and Yuil research in 2011, it showed that
there is a strong bond between socioeconomic status and
health care of all ethnic minorities and once it is removed
the poor quality health care reduces.
 More evidence in the US shows that those white and black
groups with better incomes obtain better health care
compared to those with low incomes
Topic sentence:
One of the dimensions that describe the intercultural care
experience in a hospital setting is a meeting of the two different
cultural contexts of care.
BP2
1.
 This is described when ethnic minority patient is being given
admission in the hospital, the cultural part of this patient
and that of the hospital and that of the caregiver also
interact.
 Variations between these two categories are closely
bonded with the difference in wellness, treatment, sickness,
and care of the patients.
 Ethnic minorities populations explain their understanding of
References used
in this paragraph
(author/date)
Macfadden
(2013)
Cheung NF
(2002)
Arnaet A(2006)
Johnson (2002)

care basing on how they are being taken care of in their
community in terms of their religion and culture and also
their practices and substances they use as medicine.
Suurmond (2011)
2.
 What patient is expecting, preferring and their attitudes
and behavior in the hospital are affected by the cultural
determinants including the values, beliefs and practices and
also traditions from the patient context of care
 Each patient has their own cultural views in regard to their
care during the stay in clinical areas. This requires
dynamism in social, gender and culture in relation to the
process of acculturation. Each patient also has a special
preference
3.
 Each patient is different from another this shows that each
one knows their cultural details. They know how to express
their pain in different ways and practices done indoors, and
how to appreciate their recovery.
Topic sentence:
The second factors explain the encounter of intercultural care as a
dynamic and circular process and the integral part is the interaction
of health care professionals and the patient
BP3
1.
 Each process of change can result in the provision of quality
care and good relationship.
 According to research done by Pasco et Al in Filipino
cultural context, the patient expected nurses to be one of
them and this can be managed by the change process test
and this will result to patient positive attitudes to trust the
health care professional participate in their care.
References used
in this paragraph
(author/date)
2.
 Other researchers showed how different expectations,
problems with no resolutions and conflicts, mistrust and
inability to overcome barriers results to disconnection in
providing a healthy relationship between health care
professional and the patient
3.
 Most reports show that ethnic minority patient shows poor

and negative broken relationship has an opportunity of
knowing as a well as reducing risk of conflicts in
intercultural care
Topic sentence:
The third dimension describes how ethnic minority patient tackles
the process of knowing the relationship with health care
professional which happens throughout and the balance between
the two context
BP4
1.
 When admitted ethnic minority patient can integrate the
two different cultures in his or her care without neglecting
any of them. This process has a strong relationship with
change and relationship character encounter.
 Health care providers knowing their balance between
process has an impact on developing good
interrelationships and influences the patient experiences in
the hospital
References used
in this paragraph
(author/date)
Macfadden
(2011)
Suurmond (2011)
Pasco Ac (2004)
2.
 The patient should be able to integrate the unknown clinical
area and preserve what is familiar to him or her which
includes the cultural practice.
3.
 Another factor is ethnic minority patient dealing with their
previous experiences and the ways in which these
experiences are in the present place of admission.
 The main issues in integrating both cultures are language
barriers, feeling inferior and unwillingness to discuss their
history, ignorance and also lack of communication with a
health care professional.
Topic sentence:
Best practices to improve health outcomes include the character of
being human in care, proper communication, proper hospital
organizational culture and the family role in care if patients
1.
 Patients highly appreciate kind caregivers with a genuine
concern for their well-being and caregivers who are flexible,
attentive, empathic and respectful to their needs
References used
in this paragraph
(author/date)
Betancourt

BP5  Health care providers who are able to interact
unconditionally and can give accounts of their own
experiences and most of their time are with the patient
affects positively the party health status
(2016)
Beech(2005)
2.
 Proper communication with knowledgeable information
enables the patient to have a chance to control their care
and participate in the intercultural care relationship.
3.
 Visiting the patient is important in health care outcomes
since the family members offer social, emotional, spiritual
support to the patient. This is achieved through activities
like reducing boredom, stress, anxiety and providing food
and praying for the patient.
Concl.
Summary:
 The main factors affecting the ethnic minority group is the socioeconomic
status, lack of resources, communication problems and ignorance. These issues
can be improved by having translators or educating individuals of the same
group to be health care professional, providing affordable and accessible health
care services and offering them employment opportunities to boost the
economic status
Final position:
 Ethnic minority patients have a lot of issues that are affecting their health care
in clinical areas and these can be improved by specific government
departments to provide accessible and affordable health care services to these
groups.
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