Cultural and Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Health: An Overview

This essay delves into the significance of cultural and cross-cultural perspectives in healthcare, examining the diverse health beliefs and practices of Asian Americans, African Americans, and Pacific Islanders. It highlights the impact of cultural factors such as language, acculturation, and religious beliefs on mental and physical health outcomes. The paper discusses cultural assessment methods, teaching strategies, and barriers to health education for each group, emphasizing the need for culturally competent healthcare providers. It underscores the importance of understanding non-verbal communication and the role of health literacy in addressing health disparities. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of cultural sensitivity and the need for healthcare professionals to adapt their approaches to meet the unique needs of diverse patient populations, promoting effective communication and improved health outcomes.

Running head: CULTURAL AND CROSS CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE IN HEALTH
CULTURAL AND CROSS CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE IN HEALTH
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1CULTURAL AND CROSS CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE IN HEALTH
Introduction
Culture is the array of thoughts, traditions and practices shared by a specific people or
society. These examples recognize individuals as a feature of a gathering and recognize
individuals from different gatherings (Acharya et al., 2017). Given the quantity of
conceivable variables affecting any culture, there is normally incredible assorted variety
inside any social gathering. Summing up explicit attributes of one culture can be useful, yet
be mindful so as not to over-sum up (Betancourt et al., 2016). Being culturally competent is
very important for the sake of health care since the diverse population holds several cultural
health beliefs. The cultural change in regards to health and the healing beliefs is thought to be
an ongoing process and it should be remembered that not every individual of the society
holds exactly the same beliefs (Marsella & Pedersen, 2013). This paper aims to highlight the
cross cultural diversity that is present in the following three groups namely the Asian
Americans, the African American and the Pacific Islanders. Additionally the paper elucidates
that how the cultural diversity affects the mental and the physical health outcomes of these
groups.
Multicultural and diversity issues
The population of the Asian Americans is one of the fastest growing racial groups in
the context of United States. This population is viewed as one of the most diverse populations
which include almost 43 various ethnic groups who are indulged in speaking about 100
different languages or dialects. The diversity of population includes the Chinese, Asian
Indian, Korean, Japanese and others (Mesman, IJzendoorn & Sagi-Schwarz, 2016). The
cultural issues that might have an effect on the health belief system of the Asian people and
the treatment methods. Such cultural factors include language, the level of acculturation,
gender, age, and other factors like the occupational issues, family structures and the religious

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beliefs along with spirituality. Most of the time the patients are not able to discuss their
current moods mainly because of social stigma and shame.
African Americans are one of the biggest ethnic gatherings in the United States.
Information from the U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census (2001) uncover
that there are approximately 34,333,000 African Americans living in the United States,
speaking to 12.1% of the aggregate populace. The African-American populace is relied upon
to increment to 40.2 million by 2010 (American Demographics, Inc. , 191 ) . Wellbeing
aberrations among the African-American populace include life expectancy, heart malady,
hypertension, baby ethical quality and morbidity rates, cancer, H I V/AIDS , type 2 diabetes
mellitus, and asthma (Lamb et al., 2014). The reason for this craftsmanship is to address the
issue of wellbeing aberrations among African Americans by furnishing nurses with a training
model of social fitness. African Americans are largely the relatives of Africans who were
brought persuasively to the United States as slaves somewhere in the range of 1619 and 1860.
The writing contains clashing reports of the correct number of slaves that arrived in the U.S.,
with changing assessments uncovering that somewhere in the range of 3.5 to 24 million
slaves arrived in the Americas amid the slave exchange time. African-American slaves
commonly settled in Southern states, and currently, over half of African Americans still live
in the South; 19% live in the North and Northeast, 9% live in the West , and 19% live in the
Midwest (Gay, 2013). The most noteworthy centralization of African Americans can be
found in metropolitan territories, with more than 2 million dwelling in New York City and
more than 1 million living in Chicago (Ong et al., 2013). Price & Mintz, (2013) affirms that
race is an issue for African Americans, and "the Black involvement" in America is
particularly from that of different foreigners, explicitly in terms of the all-encompassing time
of the foundation of bondage and the issue of skin shading as a methods for dehumanization
of Black people (George, Duran & Norris, 2014).

3CULTURAL AND CROSS CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE IN HEALTH
Verbal and no-verbal communication
Cultural diversity is ending up progressively increasingly essential in the work
environment. This is especially valid in social insurance associations confronting statistic
moves in the patients served and their families. This examination serves to help the
advancement of intercultural correspondence preparing programs for social insurance
suppliers by looking at how social affectability and powerful intercultural correspondence,
other than helping patients, by and by advantage medicinal services suppliers by decreasing
their pressure (Betancourt et al., 2016). Powerful intercultural correspondence and social
affectability were observed to be connected. Human services suppliers' dimensions of
intercultural uneasiness likewise were found to relate with powerful intercultural
correspondence.
Most of the behaviours takes place in a cultural context. Therefore for a health
professional it is more important to understand as well as appreciate the cultural behaviour of
the people who are trying to seek mental and physical health. When considered in terms of
communication, the messages are mostly verbal in nature. The people belonging to the
Western cultures mostly depend on the high context communication or the verbal
communication (Torre et al., 2016). However in case of low context communication, an
important part of the message is internalized in the speaker or physical in nature. Most of the
people belong to the holistic cultures like the Asians, the Native Americans, the pacific
islanders and the African Americans are involved in using the non-verbal or indirect
communication in comparison to verbal communication (George, Duran & Norris, 2014).
However both the verbal and the non-verbal communication plays a role in intercultural
communication and is very important in the context of providing mental life and physical life
to the individuals in health services.

4CULTURAL AND CROSS CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE IN HEALTH
How to culturally assess each group
In order to culturally assesse these culturally diverse groups, the following aspects
needs to be considered which are as follows:
 There is an expanded requirement for socially capable psychological well-being
administrations and suppliers with ability in working with this populace.
 Mental wellbeing suppliers must know about the incredible interethnic varieties
among Asian-Americans/Pacific Islanders.
 Because the indication of mental issue is influenced by social, generational and
cultural assimilation levels, treatment suppliers must evaluate these explicit social
elements when working with Asian-American/Pacific Islander customers.
 Treatment suppliers need to comprehend the job of social qualities, for example,
relational concordance, loss of face, and dutiful devotion on their
Asian-American/Pacific Islander customer's convictions about mental pain and the
suggestions for psychological wellness administrations.
 In perspective of the developing enthusiasm for the impact of social factors in mental
appraisal, this article fundamentally assesses evaluation issues with Asian American
populaces. Analyzed are issues in (a) the degree and side effects of psychopathology,
(b) identity appraisal, and (c) through clinical evaluation. It is contended that, without
understanding social components, specialists and experts may make unseemly and
invalid determinations. Social variables are essential not just in giving a setting to
translating evaluation results yet in addition in proposing proper reasonable and
methodological systems. Proposals are made for enhancing appraisal procedures and
for testing the impediments and all inclusive statement of develop (Cerezo & Chang,
2013).

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How to choose teaching method for each group and why chosen
Limited health literacy is a central contributor to health disparities and a modifiable
determinant of health. This joins the limit not only to scrutinize prosperity content yet also to
understand the substance with respect to express prosperity conditions. Such conditions join
understanding rules on expertly endorsed drug names, game plan slips, prosperity guidance
fliers, specialist's orientation and consent structures, and complex human administrations
systems (Betancourt et al., 2016). The National Library of Medicine reports that the
significance of prosperity training isn't only the ability to scrutinize prosperity composing yet
also the ability to use informative and essential initiative aptitudes in human administrations
conditions. Asian Americans have been found to have compelled prosperity capability and
oftentimes to have mixed up feelings as for infection that in this manner can shield them from
searching for social protection organizations, thusly provoking poorer prosperity results
(Hareven, 2018). Besides, if the dominating conviction reliant on concentrates with
nonrepresentative precedents is that Asians now and again have chest dangerous
development, Asian pioneer women likely won't search for normal screenings. By virtue of
Korean Americans, Juon et al. (2014) found that only 14.8% of Korean pioneer women
developed 65 and increasingly settled had thought about mammography screenings, appeared
differently in relation to 40.9% of Caucasian women of a comparative age (Acharya et al.,
2017). The first of Asian Americans, especially the elderly, will when all is said in done hold
unmistakable feelings on human administrations. For example, many search for social
protection exactly when their symptoms are sufficiently extraordinary as not to be settled
with standard preventive thought (Mesman, van IJzendoorn & Sagi-Schwarz, 2016).
Barriers to education each group and strategies’ to overcome the barriers
The barriers that is faced by the Asian Americans in terms receiving health education
and proper knowledge of the existing health condition involves language and culture which is

6CULTURAL AND CROSS CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE IN HEALTH
directly related to health literacy. This incorporates the capacity not exclusively to peruse
wellbeing content yet additionally to comprehend the substance with regards to explicit
wellbeing circumstances. Such circumstances incorporate understanding guidelines on
professionally prescribed medication names, arrangement slips, wellbeing instruction fliers,
doctor's bearings and assent structures, and complex human services frameworks. The
National Library of Medicine reports that the meaning of wellbeing education isn't just the
capacity to peruse wellbeing writing yet additionally the capacity to utilize expository and
basic leadership aptitudes in human services circumstances (Ong et al., 2013). Asian
Americans have been found to have constrained wellbeing proficiency and frequently to have
mistaken convictions with respect to sickness that thus can keep them from looking for social
insurance administrations, along these lines prompting poorer wellbeing results. Furthermore,
if the predominant conviction dependent on concentrates with nonrepresentative examples is
that Asians once in a while have bosom malignant growth, Asian settler ladies probably won't
look for ordinary screenings. On account of Korean Americans, Juon et al. (2014) found that
just 14.8% of Korean settler ladies matured 65 and more established had known about
mammography screenings, contrasted with 40.9% of Caucasian ladies of a similar age. The
original of Asian Americans, particularly the elderly, will in general hold distinctive
convictions on human services (Ong et al., 2013). For instance, many look for social
insurance just when their side effects are extreme enough as not to be settled with standard
preventive consideration.
Conclusion 150
All societies have frameworks of wellbeing convictions to clarify what causes
sickness, how it very well may be restored or treated, and who ought to be associated with the
procedure. The degree to which patients see quiet training as having social significance for
them can profoundly affect their gathering to data gave and their eagerness to utilize it. The

7CULTURAL AND CROSS CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE IN HEALTH
Asians/Pacific Islanders are an extensive ethnic gathering and furthermore the African
Americans. There are a few vital social convictions among these gatherings that medical
attendants ought to know about. The more distant family has critical impact, and the most
established male in the family is frequently the chief and representative. The interests and
respect of the family could really compare to those of individual relatives. More seasoned
relatives are regarded, and their position is frequently unchallenged. Among Asian societies,
keeping up concordance is an essential esteem; in this way, there is a solid accentuation on
dodging struggle and face to face encounter. Because of regard for power, conflict with the
proposals of medicinal services experts is stayed away from. Notwithstanding, absence of
difference does not demonstrate that the patient and family concur with or will pursue
treatment proposals. Among such patients, on the grounds that the conduct of the individual
thinks about the family, psychological maladjustment or any conduct that demonstrates
absence of restraint may deliver disgrace and blame. Subsequently, these patients may be
hesitant to talk about indications of dysfunctional behavior or despondency.
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