The Experiences of Healthcare Workers - Term Paper Example

Cultural Competence for Healthcare Providers [Module [Seminar Leader’s [Assignment due Cultural Competence for healthcare providers 1.0 Introduction Recently, the world has recorded one of the most gruesome diseases outbreak ever to be seen in the history of human health- the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. According to World Health Organisation (WHO), the outbreak has led to a rampant loss of human lives (2014). The outbreak has so far been strongly experienced in three West African countries; Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea with Sierra Leone being the worst affected of the three. Due to the weightiness of the outbreak and the evident lack of ability by the respective countries to control the spread of Ebola, various countries across the world have been offering help through donation of funds and sending their healthcare workers to aid in the disease control and treatment. This has evidently been of great importance in controlling the disease, with the recent statistical report showing that the spread of Ebola has gone down. As earlier mentioned, various countries have been sending human resource assistance to these Ebola stricken countries in large numbers to help in controlling the spread of Ebola. Expectedly, the healthcare workers moving to these countries have been facing numerous challenges in the new working environment with factors such as risk and fear of getting infected being of chief concern among the majority. Another key challenge has been caused by the difference in culture between most international healthcare workers and the locals who seek help and medical assistance. By focussing on the challenges resulting from differences in culture between the international health workers and the local people in the respective countries, it is important to consider the topic of cultural competence for the healthcare providers. This paper will, therefore, discuss the five dimensions of cultural competence as outlined by Meyer (1996) in relation to ways through which healthcare providers handle cultural differences in their working environments. The discussion will relate most of its information from the experiences of healthcare workers in the three West African countries worst affected by the Ebola outbreak. The discussion will, however, begin by providing an overview of cultural competence. 2.0 Cultural Competence Before delving into the topic of cultural competence, the discussion will briefly begin by defining culture. Culture is popularly defined as a set of behavioural values, norms and meanings that facilitate a certain view of the world by members of a particular society, giving that society their identity. Numerous variables are used to describe culture such as rituals, language, religious beliefs, traditions, values and socio-economic status among others. The term ‘cultural competence’ does not have a specific or a universally accepted definition but in general, it refers to a set of skills, behaviours and attitudes that facilitates effective role-playing of healthcare workers in a cross-cultural working environment (Andrews & Boyle 2008, p. 16). Usually, cultural competency demands that the healthcare workers are capable of researching and collecting accurate cultural information about the patients in these environments. The workers can then use this information to handle the diagnosis and treatment processes effectively and be able to communicate with the patients as well. Cultural competence is an important part of any healthcare worker since it helps them to be flexible, respectful and adaptive which are necessary values for effective show of care to the patients (Metrosa 2006, p. 182). Culturally competent healthcare workers are, therefore, more likely to be understanding and tolerant of other people’s views and norms and thus sensitive to the plight of the patients. According to Meyer (1996), cultural competence for healthcare providers can be categorised into five main dimensions. These dimensions represent the challenges that most healthcare workers face while working in cross-cultural environments, and international assignments such as the case of Ebola outbreak healthcare aid in West Africa. 3.0 Dimensions of cultural competence for healthcare workers 3.1 Awareness of differences This entails the ability of the healthcare workers clearly to understand the clinical differences between various people which is as a result of the variance caused by ethnic or racial backgrounds (Jeffreys 2010, pg. 36). For example, according to Chowdhury (2012), there are culture-specific syndromes, also referred to as culture-bound syndromes, where certain disorders are found to occur in a particular group of ethnic group. A good example is seen in the enhanced likelihood of people of African descent contracting tuberculosis as compared to others such as the Asians or those of Caucasian origin. Healthcare workers should also understand the differences in other cultural practices existing between themselves and the local people. According to Hofstede (1984), for example, different cultures adopt different dimensions in what he categorises as power distance index, masculinity versus femininity and individualism versus collectivism among others. Different societies handle distribution of power in the society in various ways. Societies with a high degree power distance tend to accept the fact that everyone has his/her place in the hierarchical order of power. In other societies where the degree of power distance is lower, members of the society strive for equality in power distribution. In another example of cultural difference, a society is said either to adopt an individualistic approach or a collectivist approach. In individualistic societies, people prefer a weak social system where they only care about themselves and those close to them. In a collectivist society, people expect the others in the society to take care of them and thus people tend to remain loyal to each other. In summary, healthcare workers should understand these various distinctions between different societies in order to formulate ways through which to handle each case. 3.2 Communication obstacles These are common barriers caused by miscommunication which can emanate from the use of medical jargon by the healthcare workers while addressing their patients. Another common source of miscommunication is the language barrier caused by differences in the language used by health care workers and that of the patients (Perez & Luquis 2008). An example includes an English-speaking healthcare worker administering treatment to a patient who hardly understands English language. 3.3 Ethics In this dimension, healthcare workers are required to show respect to the belief systems of their patients regarding their ethics. By showing respect of the ethic and understanding of the effects of these beliefs, healthcare workers are able to provide the necessary care in a more competent way (Lum 2011, p. 27). In some societies, for example, men can only be treated by fellow men and not women. Culturally competent healthcare workers should, therefore, respect such a belief for them to gain acceptability in such a society. 3.4 Respect Healthcare workers should show general respect and tolerance to their patients in order to prompt them to be cooperative in their diagnosis and treatment. Healthcare workers should, therefore, avoid actions that translate to disrespect to the patients such as the use of harsh language and signs of irritation to the patients. 3.5 Trust This is an important aspect through which healthcare workers are able to gather more information and learn their patients enough. This is made easier if they (patients) develop trust in the workers. Trust in healthcare workers can be gained through various ways such as humane treatment of these patients and provision of assurance to the patients on issues of confidentiality and privacy (Hillebrand 2008). 4.0 Challenges facing healthcare workers in observing the dimensions of cultural competence- a case study of health workers’ role in Ebola-stricken region of West Africa Looking at the five dimensions of cultural competency, it is definitely not an easy task for all healthcare workers involved in assignments that involve cross-cultural working environments. Working in such an environment can be such a daunting task to them and thus prior preparations, both physical and emotional, are necessary. For example, various countries have been offering manpower aid to the countries that have been worst affected by the Ebola outbreak in the past one year. The skilled health workers have gone there, most of them as volunteers, with some getting infected with the Ebola virus and others succumbing to the infections as well. There have also been cases of language barriers and other obstacles that are as a result of cultural diversity and differences between the healthcare workers and the local people of the respective countries. The following discussion will focus on some of these challenges facing international healthcare workers working in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. 4.1 Language barrier One of the major challenge that faces most healthcare workers in cross-cultural working environments is language barrier (Tseng & Streltzer 2004, p. 54). For example, most West African countries such as Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone largely use French as their main national language in addition to minor other languages. In the wake of Ebola outbreak in the region, this has proved to be one of the major impediments towards tackling the outbreak due to the language barrier that has been the case especially with the influx of international health workers into the countries for assistance. A substantial portion of doctors and nurses sent to these countries are English-speaking countries such as the UK, USA and Nigeria among others. This has led to increased cases of miscommunication which could consequently lead to reduced effectiveness by these health workers in their duties and interactions with the locals affected by Ebola (CDC 2014). 4.2 Cultural diversity West Africa (and Africa in general) is characterised by a wide variety and wealth of cultures, some which affect how various societies perceive diseases and infections such as the Ebola outbreak currently being managed in the region. For example, according to the Centre for Disease and Prevention, various cultural practices and beliefs have been influential in fuelling the spread of Ebola in West Africa. One of the most common cultures in Sierra Leone, for example, involves the women providing certain rituals such as washing the dead bodies before they are buried. This cultural practice has led to the quick spread of the virus with the women accounting for over 50 percent of all new infections and deaths in the three countries (Amnesty International 2014). Another cultural effect in Guinea has seen various myths created in regard to the international healthcare workers who have been deployed to the country to aid in Ebola control and management. According to locals, the health workers are responsible for introducing the virus into the country and thus should be avoided (CDC 2014). This has greatly frustrated the efforts of healthcare workers of reaching the sick population in Guinea with most infected people especially those in rural areas declining to seek medical attention. This has been one of the chief reasons for the rampant cases of casualties in the country. 5.0 Ways through which healthcare workers have handled the challenges that they are facing in the Ebola-stricken countries of West Africa using the dimensions of cultural competence As earlier outlined, there are various challenges which face international health workers in cross-cultural working environments. However, culturally competent health workers should be able to formulate strategies through which they can use to confront some of these challenges. 5.1 Miscommunication This is a common challenge that arises when a health worker and the patient do not understand each other’s language primarily due to a language barrier between them. This challenge can be handled through various ways such as use of an interpreter, or the health worker can strive to learn the local language which would be essential in facilitating improvement in the patient-provider relationship. Health workers can also employ various other styles of communication such as use of non-verbal methods of communication. In some cultures, also, the health workers are expected to use certain speaking tones, phrases and even a minimum degree of humour. It is important that international health workers understand such aspects and society expectations for them to communicate effectively and get accepted by the local people (Kersey-Matusiak 2013). In the Ebola-stricken countries, for example, more French-speaking health workers have since been deployed to the region, making it easy for them to communicate effectively with the patients and other local people. Other workers have learnt the local languages through interaction and communication with the local people in the respective countries thereby making them more effective in their duties. 5.2 Cultural conflicts These are the conflicts that arise when either the international health workers or the local people create boundaries based on the cultural differences and attitudes that either party has for the other. In most cases, local people show sign of scepticism towards the courses being run by international health workers which are largely influenced by their cultural difference. It is the responsibility of these health workers to formulate ways through which they can convince the locals on the need to seek medical help. For example, in the Ebola-stricken countries, various local people did not seek treatment for the Ebola infection at the start of the outbreak largely due to the scepticism that they had towards the international health workers working in their countries. However, with the intervention of the respective governments and respectful treatment portrayed by the health workers towards the local people, this conflicts have drastically diminished leading to more effective control of the Ebola virus infections in the region. 6.0 Conclusion Cultural competence is a necessary requirement for any health professional especially those who are actively involved in international and other cross-cultural health assignments. It enables the health workers to interact effectively with patients from various ethnic and social backgrounds. Culturally competent health workers are very important as seen in the recent outbreak of Ebola virus infections in the West African countries such as Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. Bibliography Amnesty International (2014). Document- International Assistance and Human Rights Protections Vital for Ebola-Stricken Countries, Amnesty International. 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