The Impact of Cultural Beliefs on the Accessibility of Medical Services for African Americans - Essay Example

Cultural Paradigms Interview Project CULTURAL PARADIGMS INTERVIEW PROJECT Introduction Danny Brown is an African-American, who was diagnosed with diabetes. In an exclusive interview, he revealed how cultural beliefs affect the perception held by Blacks when it comes to seeking medication in medical facilities. The composition of African Americans is made up of people who trace their origin to the continent of Africa. Within the Black ethnic community, diverse cultural practices exist based on a number of different aspects. The issues may include spiritualism, diet, social structure, raising of children and the trust bestowed on professional medical treatment among other things. Some of the Black Americans come from communities that believe in herbal medicine for treatment. Such cultural beliefs affect the perception some Blacks have about professional medical care. Brown he explains how he thinks the culture has influenced the accessibility of quality medical services for African Americans during an extensive interview In New York (American Nurses Association, 2015). Aware of the challenges that cultural diversity presents to physicians in delivering their services, the Campinha-Bacote framework was developed. The model tries to overcome the professional dilemma nurses find themselves in terms of administering the correct treatment of Blacks. The concept adopted by the model is slightly different from the one that emphasizes nurses to focus on the needs of patients. Nurses are encouraged to have a patient-focused approach where patients suggest the type of treatment they desire. Nurses do not have a free hand to decide on how they are going to handle the patient. On the contrary, the model encourages nurses to find solutions to patients who are affected by their cultural beliefs. The process of finding the solution should be continuous. In addition, the solutions provided should not be seen to be going against the culture of the patient. Instead, it should accommodate the culture of the patient (American Nurses Association, 2015). Professional literature In the African American society, family ties play a significant role when it comes to handling a patient. Considering that other ethnicities do not involve their family members when a person becomes sick, the African American society things are quite different. However, if a family member fails to turn up, the patient who has usually been admitted feels that the family does not care about his plight. Consequently, the health of the patient may deteriorate. According to the interview held with Brown, it is true to state that family unity plays a significant role in Blacks. It may be the case among persons without family members at their bedside, take a lot of time to recover from their sickness. On the other hand, those who receive family members as visitors during their stay in hospitals appear to be motivated (Alvarado, 2008). The events that surrounded the Migration of the African Americans in the United States of America sometimes haunt them. During the time, they were mistreated by their masters. As a result of the brutality that they underwent, Blacks resented White Americans. Some of the Blacks still hold their grudges with Whites because of the unfortunate events that their ancestors experienced. The hatred is still deeply rooted in them. Given the adverse events that still haunts some Black communities; they believe that White America nurses cannot administer to them correct treatments. Brown is of the view that White medical practitioners are callous and cannot be trusted to treat Black patients effectively just like their predecessors. Sometimes the perception affects nurses in discharging their duties because the patients become unwilling to disclose information about their conditions. Since Blacks believe that the White Americans were responsible for the atrocities that the Blacks underwent, they still hold their resentment against White nurses. Once they withhold crucial information about their status, it becomes difficult for nurses to decide the best solution they can offer to them (Alvarado, 2008). Portrayal of the Culture The African American culture is reflected in a number of ways in the media and literature writings. According to a number of media publications and research papers, African America culture affects their beliefs of the medical healthcare systems. They are perceived to be a strong ethnic community that sometimes can overcome sickness without necessarily having to seek medication in hospitals. For example, they believe that mental disorder that sometimes causes depression is not a serious ailment that can warrant them to find a treatment in hospitals. In addition, some of them do not have faith in the health systems in the country something that forces them to seek alternative treatment from untrained sources. Also, most African Americans depend on their social structures when it comes to health matters. Because of the strong religious beliefs that most of them have, they depend on their to heal their ailments (American Psychiatric Association, 2014). Personal Reflections Throughout the extensive interview, some issues that arose include the stereotypes that some Black Americans have regarding the country’s healthcare systems. According the interviewee, there is a general feeling in the Black American community that White patients receive favors when it comes to accessing medical care. The increase of such cultural beliefs has negatively affected service delivery in medical facilities (American Psychiatric Association, 2014). Conclusion From the interview, it is clear that cultural practices negatively affect adequate medical service delivery. People hold their cultural beliefs in their hearts where its difficult for them to change them. African Americans have difficulties when it comes to accessing professional medical health care. The challenge has been brought about because they have failed to shift their cultural paradigm. Religious issues affect their opinion on the importance of seeking treatment from professional medical practitioners. Some of them believe that their spiritual leaders can heal their ailments, and for this reason they do not see the need to visit hospitals. Brown hopes that some of the cultural beliefs will be eradicated since they have affected their search for practical medication. As a future medical profession, it will be significant to note that culture is a variable that affects efficient service delivery in the medical field. As a result, each patient should be handled bearing in mind his cultural diversity. Ethnic communities have different cultures and it is imperative to customize the services offered in hospitals according to different cultural backgrounds. If the Campinha-Bacote model is adopted across all medical facilities in the United States of America, it will serve as a solution to cultural competency in hospitals (Nursing World, 2015). References Alvarado, Anthony J., (2008).Cultural Diversity: Pain Beliefs and Treatment among Mexican-Americans, African-Americans, Chinese-Americans and Japanese-Americans. Senior Honors Theses. Paper 127. American Nurses Association,(2015).Delivering patient-Centered Care in the Midst of a Cultural Conflict: The Role of Cultural Competence American Psychiatric Association,(2014).African American.http://www.psychiatry.org/Africa n-americans Read More