University Healthcare Module: Diverse Cultural Backgrounds and Beliefs

This report delves into the diverse cultural backgrounds of people and their specific beliefs concerning healthcare. It begins by comparing the author's Colombian cultural perspective with those of patients from Puerto Rican, Hiawatha, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Catholic backgrounds, highlighting similarities such as the belief in illness as a consequence of sin and the use of herbal medicine, while also noting differences in religious practices and restrictions. The report emphasizes the importance of family-centered care and cultural sensitivity in healthcare interventions, advocating for nurses to provide counseling, education, and develop therapeutic relationships to ensure patient understanding and adherence to treatment plans. It acknowledges barriers to care, such as strong religious beliefs and lack of resources, particularly for transgender individuals, and discusses how these barriers can affect physical, emotional, and spiritual health. The author reflects on learning about various cultural practices, including birth and death rituals, and the challenges faced by different communities in accessing quality healthcare, concluding that nurses should respect and learn about diverse cultures to create tailored care plans. The report underscores the significance of cultural competence in healthcare to provide effective and respectful care to all patients.

Running head: DIVERSE CULTURAL BACKGROUND OF PEOPLE AND THEIR
BELIEVES
Diverse Cultural Background of People and Their Specific Believes
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author’s Note:

1
DIVERSE CULTURAL BACKGROUND OF PEOPLE AND THEIR BELIEVES
1. The basic similarities among the patient of different cultural background with my cultural
background of Columbia is the believe that illness is the result of some sinful activity of
people and God has given punishment in the form of deadly disease. My culture believes
in herbal medicine as an alternative to chemical drugs, and giving care to patient by the
family members which is similar with patient from Puerto Rican and Hiawatha culture.
While, Patient of catholic culture do not prefer herbal medicine much and go for modern
medicine for relieving pain. Being religious and having strong faith in god is also in
common with patient’s culture. However, my culture has no restriction in body exposing
for treatment and no compulsion for circumcision; while, patient of Ashkenazi Jewish has
high restriction in this and allow diagnosis from sex only; and circumcision is obligatory
for male child.
2. As compared with other culture of patient with my cultural background, some additional
care intervention that preserve the sentiment and cultural believe of other are to be taken.
Care given should be family-patient centered. Nurses need to give counselling, detail
education about the disease and develop therapeutic relationship in order to make them
understand the concept of treatment that will be beneficial for them. My culture strongly
believes in giving care to the patient by family member only and father is the decision
maker for any kind of plan of care that need to be employed. Hence nurse gives care
according to preference of patient ‘s and family’s choice. Nurse can also assess them
about the benefits and harm regarding their decision so that they can devise the plan for
care accurately to their health condition. The care plan can be made according to them,
which involves their herbal medicine as well as other important chemical drugs.
3. The barrier to the client, culture or family in specific to physical, emotional and spiritual
health is their strong religious believe related to treatment of patient. My culture believes
is in resemblance with Puerto Rican and Hiawatha in involving family centered care and
choice of herbal medicine, however, this can cause ineffective treatment of patient.
Unavailability of herbal medicine can result in lethal effect of patient. However, This can
affect their emotional believe. As compared to religious believe of Ashkenazi Jewish
people, who do not allow care by different sex can cause incompetence to effective
diagnosis and effect their physical health. People of transgender background have low
quality of care due to lack of resource and finance. Which is affecting their spirituality.

2
DIVERSE CULTURAL BACKGROUND OF PEOPLE AND THEIR BELIEVES
However, my cultural background does not face issue of low quality of care as preference
is given to patient health based on the decision of person who is in power. The identified
barrier affects spiritual, physical and emotional health of individual.
4. I learned about different cultures of people regarding their live and death believe, about
their religious barrier that do not allow sinful deeds. I was not aware about the culture of
Puerto Rican that they pray for 9 consecutive days after death of person for soul benefit. I
learned that being overweighed is sign of being healthy and wealthy according to them. I
have learned that people of Ashkenazi Jewish keep name of the newborn after their
deceased belonging and they recite some specific reading for 11 months after death of
loved one and do not get involved in any kind of enjoyment or function. I learned that
people of catholic background are restricted in aborting child and they believe that there
is life after death. Regarding transgender culture I learned about their various issue for
low quality of health care like lack of financial support, cultural competence and
discrimination from society. I also acknowledged from culture of Hiawatha that father’s
aunt cut the umbilical cord to show that child is connected to father and placenta is buried
in earth to show their relation with it.
5. From different cultural case study, I think that world is full of numerous diverse culture
and have different specific religious believe regarding health diagnosis and care. Nobody
should be judge by their cultural background. In order to give treatment and care to
people of different culture, nurse should respect their believe and make an effort to learn
about their culture so that they can make the care plan according to their sentiments. I
also think that having different culture is the outcome of their ancestral trust which is
ongoing till now to keep them alive in form of their believes.