The Health Care System in the US - Essay Example

An even ailment that may not require biochemical approaches such as physical injuries requires direct contact for a cure. The use of amulets is however spiritual and not practical (Denise 10).

The history of amulets shows that they originated among Israelites. It then spread to other communities such as “Canaanites, Phoenician, Assyrian, and Egyptian” communities. The communities developed the health practice in their different regions around the seventh and the eighth centuries. The Israelites used the practice to cast away evil spirits and diseases that were associated with culture (Denise 10).

There is no western medication equivalent for amulets in casting away evil spirits. The western medication does not recognize spirits. Many curative and preventive alternatives to amulets however exist in western medicine and include “paracetamol, chloroquine syrup, penicillin, and tetracycline” (Bierlich 72).
The advantage of this practice over the western medical equivalent is that it does not contain chemicals. It also does not involve direct contact with the body’s internal organs. This means that amulets do not have side effects as compared to western medical equivalents. It is however difficult to prove that the practice is accurate and effective and this is its disadvantage.

If I chose to use amulets in healthcare, my family and friends criticize me for being superstitious and irrational. This would bother me because it would interfere with my relationship between my family and friends.

Question 2
The health care system in the United States works under the private sector with little role from the government. Private practitioners are the major service providers. Private firms also offer health care insurance. The government only offers healthcare insurance cover to special groups of people. The privatization makes both health insurance cover and the cost of medical services to be high. Health care services are also segmented and people from different social classes access the different quality of health care services. This is different from the health care system in Canada where the government provides care services. The government of Canada also provides universal health insurance for all citizens. These ensure equal access to health care and citizens do not pay the cost (Chiswick 168).

Question 3
My friend came to sightsee. I am willing to teach her how to Netflix but she is stubborn. I would use negotiation skills to convince my friend to take it easy on sightseeing. I would identify the problem as a different issue from my friend. I would then ask her to view the problem from an objective perspective. I would then focus, and ask my friend to focus, on the interests that are at stake. I would focus her attention on her medical condition and the possibility that moving around to sightsee would worsen her condition. I would inform her of possible hypersensitivity of her body to the locality and advise her to avoid movements. This is because movements would expose her to adverse environmental conditions and worsen her complication. I would then offer her the option to use Netflix and ask her to come up with other options and inform her that Americans are oriented to individualism and may have a negative perception of sightseeing. I would then convince my friend to use an objective approach to making decisions on the issue (Doye, Love and Hyer 1- 3).

Question 4
Suppose that an African family has immigrated here then acculturation is likely to transform the family’s health behavior and practices from an African perspective to allopathic views. The change will however take time. The first generation is likely to value more of the African culture and the value is likely to reduce across generations. The second generation may be more comfortable with the modern practices while the third generation is likely to conform to the allopathic practices. American health care providers are likely to undermine the first generation and deal fairly with the second generation. The providers are however likely to accept the conformed perceptions and practices of the third generation (Detjen 19- 20).

Question 5
As the person in charge of developing cultural awareness training, I would want the trainer to cover “behaviors, attitudes, and policies” as factors that change from one culture to another. Religious customs would be an important part of the training. This is because religion defines culture. Steps to defining cultural competence would include research on the organization to understand its cultural mix and its policies regarding cultural diversity (Paez 23).