Posted: June 28th, 2022

Different Cultures Within My Community

Different Cultures Within My Community
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The Different Cultures Within My Community
Coming from a culturally diverse community, as a nurse, I get to interact with persons from different cultures who are either born or immigrated into the country. Latinos and Asians are some of the predominant ethnic groups in my community. These two communities have distinct cultures, which they exhibit during their interactions.
According to Rote, and Moon (2018), cultural interaction remains a complex process within the community due to numerous differences in language, values, and behaviors. However, since the interactions within a community are paramount, individuals will identify the different cultural characteristics and learn how to adapt to them during the interaction process. Notably, this process needs to be done effectively so that the individual holds stereotypical views towards individuals from different cultures. It is about consciously analyzing a situation then selecting the correct behavior to discern from that interaction. For instance, Latinos are not strict on a diet and engage in daily exercises. This has resulted in higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity (Garcia, & Sanchez, 2021). Therefore, to avoid a culture clash and ensure these two fundamental activities are incorporated in their daily lives, inter-professional collaboration in conjunction with educational awareness has been helping hence a subsequent decrease in health disparities. According to Garcia, and Sanchez (2021), a comprehensive team-based approach has been crucial in providing extensive expertise to the Latino community. Generally, society learns what defines the different community cultures and how one gets to acknowledge them while not being stereotypical.
How the Different Cultures Can Lead To Poor Patient Outcomes
Culture also plays a fundamental role in health interactions as it affects how a person could view a particular illness and influences how the physician will address an older patient. Medical interactions between healthcare professionals and members from the Latinos and Asian cultures are also at risk of producing poor patient outcomes if they are not handled accordingly.
One of the cultural barriers between Latinos and health workers in my community is the language barrier. Most Latino adults primarily speak in English both at home and in public places (Garcia, & Sanchez, 2021). While interacting with a healthcare professional, communication is greatly impeded due to either complicated medical terminologies hence not understanding their illness or treatment. Subsequent effects include delays in ensuring that necessary tests and treatments and incorrect medication are given if the symptoms of ailments are not given correctly. The communication practices among the Asian community include hiding emotions such that smiles could mean a lack of understanding instead of agreement, they use non-verbal language extensively, asking questions is considered impolite, and being disrespectful to authority with indirect statements indicating disagreements instead of comprehension (Efendi et al., 2018). This is different from individual cultures especially coming from a community that believes in expressing themselves. These clashes lead to poor communication that hurts the patient’s safety, quality of care, and poor patient outcomes.
According to Rote, and Moon (2018), patient outcomes are also negatively affected by different cultures and their views on family caregiving. The family is the basic unit of every society, including those within the Hispanic cultures. However, family caregiving is not applicable in every situation. For instance, a patient that is in intensive care needs typically to interact more with healthcare givers. However, if a Hispanic family insists on wanting access to the patient since they can also provide the care, the patient will be put at risk of not receiving quality care. In addition, some older persons will have no family living close by, or their families could be overwhelmed with other dependents and responsibilities. This makes it difficult for the older person to receive the family care they want, and if they do not cooperate, it could impede their receipt of better care.
Both Asians and Latinos believe that healthcare can be achieved naturally or in non-clinical places. Hispanics may rely on folk medicine while Asians like their herbs over modern medicine. However, these mechanisms will not necessarily replace modern medicine. Instead, they are supposed to be used together as long as they are practical and do not harm the users. Nonetheless, some members could choose to rely extensively on their medicines without a proper understanding of what could be ailing them. As Rote, and Moon (2018) indicate, their actions could be causing further damage to their systems that even when they finally resort to medical care, the professionals find it challenging to provide proper medical care.
Cultural Awareness Among Nurses To Ensure Proper interactions With Hispanics and Asians.
Education initiatives where nurses learn more of the Asian and Hispanic cultures have played a role in understanding these patients better. With that understanding, the nurse is prompted to find ways to convey medical instructions to patients with language barriers. For instance, a translator could always be on standby to Spanish language handouts are provided. Nonetheless, there are times when there is no translator or handout. The nurse incorporates the “teach-back” technique where they repeat their care instructions to the patients until the patient does them correctly (Rote, and Moon, 2018). Patients are also involved in active dialogue and discussions throughout their care journeys such that they quickly learn through the process.
The hospital environment is also working to create an environment warm and welcome to Latino and Asian patients. A significant starting point is bilingual posters, increasing diversity among health workers, and conveying medical literature. Cultural competency training has helped focus on the similarities in distinct cultures and groups then find ways to improve knowledge and understanding (Efendi et al., 2018). Also, the hospital is planning to incorporate cultural assessment training before being registered and during postgraduate studies so that the shared beliefs, values, and customs are promoted concerning health behaviors.
Cultures will continue to remain an element in healthcare that will influence how things are done. However, the differences should not limit one to interacting with those to who they are alike. Leaders and other health professionals such as nurses must be intentional in learning about their communities. The knowledge and understanding they acquire should be translated into how they interact with patients from different cultures. However, they should understand that it is a learning process.

References
Efendi, F., Nursalam, N., Kurniati, A., & Gunawan, J. (2018, April). Nursing qualification and workforce for the association of Southeast Asian Nations economic community. In Nursing forum (Vol. 53, No. 2, pp. 197-203).
Garcia, J. A., & Sanchez, G. R. (2021). Latino politics in America: Community, culture, and interests. Rowman & Littlefield.
Rote, S. M., & Moon, H. (2018). Racial/ethnic differences in caregiving frequency: Does immigrant status matter?. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 73(6), 1088-1098.

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