Cultural Diversity in the Health Sector - Essay Example

Cultural Diversity In The Health Sector Cultural diversity in the health sector is one of the things that deny some people their right, that of health care. This is because they are always sideline because of their culture. These people with different cultures are treated so because they are definitely from another culture. They are most probably from another country meaning that some are illegally in the country (Nation’s Health, 1993). This is one of the reasons why some of them never get access to health care because of fear of being charged of being in the country illegally. Worse still, these immigrants might be deported. The fastest growing minority population in the U.S. is the Latino or the Hispanic. These are people from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, south or Central America or any other Spanish speaking country regardless of their race. The Latinos are at a greater risk of suffering from diabetes mellitus, HIV/AIDs, hypertension, TB, alcoholism and death resulting from violence than any other group in the immigrants list. The only problem with the Latinos is that they take too long to report their cases to medical centers and they only do so when the disease is already at the late stages. Some of these diseases take so long to heal when they are reported at the late stages (Cook et al.2009). Others do not heal and they end up dying, not because the disease could not be cured but because they took too long before reporting. Some of the factors contributing to this problem are lack of insurance cover and poverty. A cultural factor that we are going to focus on is the fact that some believe enduring pain is a part of tolerance. Others believe that being pregnant is a natural thing and pregnant women do not need medical care. This group was chosen because the number of Latinos crossing over to America continues to increase each year and the number of Latino doctors continue to go down. In fact, the Latinos are the least represented group in the U.S. health sector. Language and cultural barriers aggravate this problem for both the Latino caregivers and the patients. The language barrier comes up because only a small percentage of Latinos speak English, the rest speak just a little. Most of them continue to communicate in Spanish when they go home. Latin children from age 5 and older speak good English but the adults are not able to communicate well (Long et al., 2012). Medical terminology can be a bit complicated thus making life hard for the Latinos. That is why the Latinos are always complaining that they are not listened by the doctors and at the same time, they do not understand their doctors well. Latino patients are twice as likely to leave the doctor’s room without asking some crucial questions that are very important regarding their illness and how they will take their medicine. Some of the care problems that require individualization as related to cultural diversity are; Pregnancy Mental illnesses Chronic illnesses like diabetes Pregnancy Every woman has a unique pregnancy and no two pregnancies are the same. In fact, ask mothers about their pregnancies and they will tell you that they were not similar (Cook et al., 2009).. You find out that in one she might have had problems, high blood pressure, loss of appetite, low blood count and such like stuff the other one she might have had a smooth one. You may also find out that she gave birth normally in one while the other one she might have had Caesarean Section. No two women are the same, which is similar to individuality. Therefore, every pregnant woman should be treated individually and just because it is a natural thing, it doesn’t mean that there won’t arise medical conditions. For example, there is high blood pressure that comes up when one gets pregnant and disappears once the woman gives birth (Cook et al., 2009). If this high blood pressure is not taken care of the right way, with the right medical care and on time, the woman might lose the baby or both the mother and the baby may die. That is why it is important for the Latinos to know that a medical practitioner should check pregnant women regularly during their pregnancies until they give birth. Most Latinos especially the Mexicans use traditional methods to take care of a pregnant woman which is not good. Some herbs they use might not be good for the baby because as I said, every pregnancy is unique. Mental illnesses Latinos especially Mexicans are known to use herbs to cure even mental illnesses. Just like any other disease, every case is different. The mistake they do is that they treat all mental illnesses the same way not bearing in mind that some are more serious than the others are. Western doctors are trained to diagnose and treat diseases using western medicine while traditional healers/folks treat an illness according to where one is suffering from a cultural perspective. All mental illnesses need specialized medical care because every case is a unique case. The doctor needs to keep on evaluating the progress of how the patient is doing. Emphasis is needed for every hospital to have a mental illness department where patients can have their medical issues diagnosed and treated. In such a case, a patient can have his or her personal doctor who will handle his case as an individual. Chronic diseases Chronic illnesses like diabetes, which, is prevalent in Latinos needs very good health care in terms of the foods the patients, take. The foods to be taken by diabetic patients can only be prescribed in a medical centre. Herbs might work in this but not on the long term. Again, diabetic patients need to have their blood sugars checked every now and then (Long et al., 2012). They also need to have their diet changed every now and then which, can only be done by a medical practitioner. The reason some Latinos opt for the herbal medicines is because they are poor and their culture does not allow them to be treated medically. There needs to be a nutrition department in every hospital where people can be advised on how to take care of themselves when they are suffering from diabetes. Conclusion Health care is a human right for every citizen in any country regardless of their culture, their economic status or even their origin. It does not matter whether one is an immigrant or not. Everybody should have access to medical facilities such that some of these cases can be eliminated. By making health care affordable to everybody, people will stop using traditional methods for their medical conditions. Again, education is very important regardless of people’s age and origin(Cook et al., 2009). The government should take an initiative to make sure education available to everybody. As for the foreigners, the government should introduce programs where people can learn the foreign language when they relocate to America. This will make life simple for the Latinos especially when they need medical attention. Applying Leadership qualities for all nurses in all departments in the hospital setting is important. This is to make sure that nurses will be able to look in the cultural background of the patients, the social-economic status and their language (Long, Sowell, Bairan, Holtz, Curtis & Fogarty, 2012). That way, the health providers will not oversimplify the values, the customs and the beliefs of the patient. References LONG, J. M., SOWELL, R., BAIRAN, A., HOLTZ, C., CURTIS, A. B., & FOGARTY, K. J. (2012). EXPLORATION OF COMMONALITIES AND VARIATIONS IN HEALTH RELATED BELIEFS ACROSS FOUR LATINO SUBGROUPS USING FOCUS GROUP METHODOLOGY: IMPLICATIONS IN CARE FOR LATINOS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES. Journal Of Cultural Diversity, 19(4), 133-142. Latinos most vulnerable on health insurance. (1993). Nations Health, 23(3), 10. Cook, B., Alegría, M., Lin, J. Y., & Guo, J. (2009). Pathways and Correlates Connecting Latinos Mental Health With Exposure to the United States. American Journal Of Public Health, 99(12), 2247-2254. Read More