Cultural diversity - Assignment Example

The Amish culture is distinct from other cultures because they have rules that address the type of employment for members, style of dressing, technology use and gender roles. The Amish does not believe in seeking medical practices from modern hospitals. Research carried out to identify the beliefs and healthcare practices revealed that cardiac knowledge was limited among the Amish. Data from seven females and eight males with a mean of 61years +18.35/-18.35 showed that the main cause of limited cardiovascular knowledge was prioritizing maintenance of cultural traditions (Gillum, 2010).

People are suspicious about receiving health education from outside since the Amish concentrates on maintaining cultural traditions, which sometimes conflict with recommended health lifestyle changes. This contradiction causes the Amish to avoid using the modern healthcare. The Amish does not have the knowledge of modern methods of identifying and preventing diseases. The group uses alternative and complimentary healthcare providers because of the belief that good health is a gift from God (Gillum, 2010).

Modern healthcare is sought only after the alternative and complimentary practices have failed. The Amish neither accept traditional healthcare insurance nor participate in Medicaid. Most of the Amish have made contracts with local healthcare providers for discounted rates in exchange for cash payments. The church leaders organize fundraising to help members if they are unable to settle high medical bills on their own. Church leaders divide the amount of the bill among the whole population and decide how much each family in the district will pay (Helmuth & Schwartz, 2008).

The Amish conducts fundraisers to help families in need since they feel that they have a moral obligation to aid their neighbors and share their fears. When recommended to the Amish, health care providers need to be mindful of the health care testing and treatment expenses. The Amish children do not continue formal education beyond the eighth grade. This group is reluctant to allow their children to attend school for a long time because of the belief that practical skills of writing, arithmetic, and reading are accessed at eighth grade.

Children studying in parochial schools do not study science (Gillum, 2010). The Amish believes that advanced schooling may make children to question their faith and culture due to prolonged exposure to the outside world. The textbooks used in the Amish schools are primarily outdated and are preferred in order to prevent modern knowledge from interfering with the local culture. The Amish, however, are not opposed to modern technology; they use technology selectively to preserve the culture and heritage, and ensure that they are transmitted to the next generations (Gillum, 2010) According to Wenger and Wenger (2008), there are three languages in the Amish cultural contexts.

The first language that the Amish children are introduced to is Dietsch. This language is also called Pennsylvania German, and it is a mixture of English and German (Helmuth & Schwartz, 2008). The Dietsch is the primary language for communicating at home and among members of their own culture. The second language is English, which is taught in schools and used primarily for communicating with the outside world. The third language is Standard High German. This is the formal language of the church that is used