Ethnocentrism, Racism and Health Care - Essay Example

ETHNOCENTRISM, RACISM AND HEALTH CARE Introduction According to Wood 163), “ethnocentrism is the use of one’s own culture and its practices as the standard for interpreting the values, beliefs, norms and communication of other cultures”. The literal meaning of ethnocentrism is placing our own ethnicity at the centre of the universe. Ethnocentrism fosters negative judgment of all the things that are different from one’s own ways; it can lead to domination and exploitation of other groups, even to the extent of engaging in genocide. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to examine ethnocentrism, the difference between ethnocenrtism and racism, its impact on health care delivery, and whether universal standards of right and wrong are present despite multiculturalism. Examples of Ethnocentrism When European explorers established their colonies in the New World of America, their assumption that the Native Americans would benefit from adopting European cultural characteristics is a historical example of ethnocentrism. A more contemporary example is the tendency to judge other cultures by the availability and use of consumer goods prized by one’s society, instead of considering the extent to which they follow their own values (Kornblum 2011). Although ethnocentrism promotes group solidarity and a sense of group superiority, it also discourages intercultural understanding. For example nationalism is a form of highly exclusionary ethnocentrism. It involves one’s identification with, as well as exaltation of the superiority of one’s cultural group over other groups, and it organises itself politically and socially around this principle. Nationalist movements use “extreme ethnocentrism as the basis for nation building” (Andersen & Taylor 2005: 67). An example of ethnocentrism creating immense problems is the Al Qaeda’s acts of terrorism due to the clash of cultural values between the Islamic world and the west. Further, subtle forms of ethnocentrism are evident in groups such as urbanites versus rural dwellers, or fraternities with group rituals emphasizing claims of exclusivity. Other examples of ethnocentrism include the assumed superiority of one system such as biomedicine over another such as indigenous tradition; of one group of professionals such as doctors over another such as anthropologists, of professionals over lay persons, or of other cultures over one’s own (Lambert 2006). Contrary to ethnocentrism, suspending judgment about other cultures is: cultural relativity. It is an acquired skill that recognizes that all cultures “develop their own ways of dealing with the specific demands of their environments” (Kornblum 2011: 61). The Difference Between Ethnocentrism and Racism Ethnicity is related to culture and characterizes all human groups. It refers to a sense of identity and group membership with shared language, cultural traits including values, beliefs, customs, food habits, religion etc. and a sense of a common history. Such groups have differing degrees of feelings of superiority over other groups in relation to their norms and customs. Ethnic identity is acquired, learned form of behaviour, unrelated to biology, flexible and can be changed. Ethnocentrism is similarly transient and superficial (Wallenfeldt 2010). On the other hand, race is a form of identity that is considered as innate and unalterable. Race is profound and is grounded in biological realities. While ethnocentrism believes in the superiority of one’s own culture, racism is based on promotion of the racial worldview. Ethnocentrism considers skin colour and other physical features to be irrelevant among members of the same culture; contrastingly the racial worldview holds that despite cultural similarities a member of an inferior race, who is considered to be so due to physical features, can never be accepted. While race is an “invented, fictional form of identity, ethnicity is based on the reality of cultural similarities and differences and the interests that they represent” (Wallenfeldt 2010: 90-91). However, according to Wilson (1976: 31), “racism represents one form of the more general phenomenon of ethnocentrism”. The Impact of Ethnocentrism on Health Care Delivery Social critieria play an important part in health assessment and health care delivery. “The operation of health care providers’ unexamined prejudices and ethnocentrism is particulary apparent in health care interactions with women, persons of colour, persons of low income, immigrants, gays and lesbians” (Stevens 1992: 198). These patients are more likely to be given treatment that is unsuitable for their culture and life circumstances. They are also prone to receiving stereotyped responses and misdiagnoes because of qualitatively poor diagnostic procedures. Due to ethnocentrism, the groups mentioned above are more likely to be ignored, patronized, subjected to sexist and racist remarks, and are usually not provided with explanations of the health care they are receiving. Since ethnocentrism means believing that one’s own culture is the only normal one, the inability to fully comprehend another’s culture has resulted in poor patient outcomes. Ethnocentrism harms patient care through incorrect diagnosis of schizophrenia and institutionalization of people from diverse and misunderstood cultures. Similarly, those patients who express their pain or discomfort in a different manner as compared to the health care provider, are not given adequate pain relief; further parents are being arrested for child abuse “due to misunderstood cultural childrearing beliefs and practices” (Abramo 2001: 3). Harper (2008) reiterates that cultural competence in health care delivery included cultural desire, cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural skill, and cultural encounters; and each of these was made up of a number of elements. Whether there are Universal Standards of Right and Wrong Despite cultural diversity and policies of multiculturalism, the core of ethical relativism is that nothing is inherently right or wrong; only conforming or nonconforming. No group can claim final authority. Cultural relativism asserts that human values are not universal, and differ to a great extent according to different cultural approaches (Ayten-Shenker 2011). There are levels of consideration from an ethical point of view, as follows: Several cultural differences are morally neutral and many types of diversity are not ethical issues. Some ethical norms are universal, and go beyond cultural relativism; whereas some moral beliefs such as regarding decency of dressing may differ among different cultures. For cooperation, security and mutual benefit, particular standards are are sometimes used. Different standards are used for one-to-one individual relationships, and for broader areas such as the government. Thus, some of the dilemmas of relativism include the ethicality of double standards, however sincere. Conclusion This paper has highlighted ethnocentrism, examined the difference between ethnocentrism and racism, identified its impact on health care delivery, and determined whether universal standards of right and wrong exist in spite of multiculturalism. It was found that ethnocentrism is different from cultural relativism which believes that diverse cultures have their own ways of thinking, acting and behaving, as well as other factors. Ethnocentrism is also different from racism, although the former is rooted in the latter. The impact of ethnocentrism on health care delivery includes various adverse outcomes based on health care workers’ lack of understanding of other cultures. In relation to universal standards of right and wrong, it evident that despite multiculturalism, there are various standards among the different cultures, with only a few common to all people. It is necessary for people to reduce their tendencies to be ethnocentric. Essentially culture is a learned concept, and what is right or wrong differs between cultures. Instead of ethnocentrism, it would be more appropriate to adopt the approach of cultural relativism which is based on the acknowledgment that “cultures vary in how they think, act and behave, as well as what they believe and value” (Wood 2011: 163). It is vital to promote awareness among people of different cultures and co-cultures that what appears to be wrong or odd to one group, may seem natural and right for a different culture. That awareness enhances understanding of each others’ customs among people of different cultures and subcultures. Bibliography Abramo, L. (2001). Transcultural competencies for health care providers. Retrieved on 26th August, 2011 from: http://www.agespec.com/Chapter%201%20Intro.pdf Andersen, M.L. & Taylor, H.F. (2005). Sociology: Understanding a diverse society. Edition 4. The United Kingdom: Cengage Learning. Ayton-Shenker, D. (2011). The challenge of human rights and cultural diversity. London: United Nations. Harper, M.G. (2008). Evaluation of the antecedents of cultural competence. Michigan: ProQuest. Kornblum, W. (2011). Sociology in a changing world. Edition 9. The United Kingdom: Cengage Learning. Lambert, H. (2006). Book Review. Geest, S.V.D. & Reis, R. (Eds). (2005). Reflections on medical anthropology. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 12 (2): pp.481-482. Stevens, P.E. (1992). Who gets care? Access to health care as an arena for nursing Action. Scholarly Inquiry for Nursing Practice, 6 (3): pp.185-200. Wallenfeldt, J. (2010). Africa to America: From the Middle Passage through the 1930s. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group. Wilkens, S. (2011). Beyond bumper sticker ethics: An introduction to theories of right and wrong. Edition 2. The United States of America: InterVarsity Press. Wilson, W.J. (1976). Power, racism and privilege: Race relations in theoretical and Sociohistorical perspectives. London: Free Press. Wood, J.T. (2011). Communication in our lives. Edition 6. 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