Changes in Cuban Culture - Essay Example

I believe that while your statements in regards to handshaking and direct eye contact are accurate, as intimacy is a large part of communication in that culture, because the government has been pushing for improving the health of its citizens, and in light of the unrest felt towards the government, that hugging or another close contact beyond showing through body language that Mrs. Hernandez has your full attention could breed a form of distrust. To best show Mrs. Hernandez that her concerns are being addressed, appropriate interjections while she is talking to show that you are paying attention, but waiting to provide a more full response until she is complete should be sufficient. Through this manner, you are showing that you are practicing effective communication skills, offering information showing that you are familiar with the culture by the brief touches that handshakes afford, but still maintaining a professional distance by not attempting to become overly familiar with her, for in her eyes, you would be associated with the government, due to the messages that the government has been touting for over half a century.

To assist Mrs. Hernandez in developing a plan for a 1500-calorie diet, instead of changing the way that she cooks food – plantains taste exceedingly different if they are fried versus when they are grilled, perhaps the better alternative would be to offer her alternative styles of Cuban foods that would fit into a 1500 calorie diet plan, such as Cuban Stuffed Pork Tenderloin, which has 160 calories per serving (Spark Recipes, 2013), or Cuban Garbanzo Bean Salad at 320.4 calories per serving (Spark Recipes, 2013). To assist her in getting on the path to regular exercise, the idea of walking to the grocery store and carrying her purchases back herself is one good example of how she can increase her daily activity level, as is gardening, but showing her that every activity is a form of exercise may make her more active. Explaining that everything from vacuuming to housework, yard work to cooking can be a form of exercise should prompt her to be more active, and explaining how things that may seem like they are not exercise, such as kneading bread, offer therapeutic ways to increase activity levels to a healthy level should prompt her to become more active overall.

I agree with your statement that I would not encourage Mrs. Hernandez to go to the botanica; however, I would not stop her either. It is a part of not just Cuban culture, but many other cultures that have their first inclination to look for an herbal alternative before it looks for a medical alternative. I believe that you are on the correct path, as well, in asking her that if she does so, to bring the items she purchases to you, as the herbs that she purchases may hurt the medications that have been prescribed, as in the case of willow bark being taken at the same time a person is on an aspirin regimen.

Due to the proliferation of complementary and alternative medicines in Cuban culture, the Institute of Medicine’s Academy of Science went so far as to suggest schools incorporate information on these alternative practices and folk remedies into their teachings to ensure that the treating physician, nurse, or pharmacist had ideas already in place about the potential alternative medicines that patients such as Mrs. Hernandez might use (Applebaum, Kligler, Barrett, Frenkel, Guerrera, Kondwani, Lee & Tattelman, 2006).