Cultural Attitudes and Values in Healthcare

Subject: Medical Ethics
Pages: 5
Words: 1117
Reading time:
4 min
Study level: College

Introduction

Human beings belong to specific cultural groups, religions, and societies that promote unique values and attitudes. These attributes influence the thoughts patients to develop throughout the care delivery process. People from different regions or races will consider specific principles that inform their decisions regarding the effectiveness of various clinical procedures. Nurse practitioners (NPs) and clinicians should be aware of such cultural attributes in order to identify individuals with diverse backgrounds and implement the best or personalized care delivery model. The purpose of this paper is to analyze this thesis statement and present evidence-based guidelines that can empower healthcare professionals to meet their patients’ demands.

Main Body

  • Cultural attitudes and values are essential in every healthcare unit. The best example is that of a religious person who needs guidance in order to engage in prayers and fasting. These practices are capable of supporting the healing process.
  • Since patients tend to have diverse backgrounds, it is always necessary for clinicians to appreciate existing differences and similarities. For example, two patients from the same country or region might formulate opposing opinions regarding the use of traditional herbs.
  • Medical practitioners and clinicians should be trained to provide culturally competent care to their patients. For instance, nurses should be aware of personal beliefs and how to combine them with the existing care delivery processes.
  • The cultural values, beliefs, and traditions should dictate the nature of medical procedures and practices. The best example is for a medical professional to embrace or suggest traditional medicine to patients who appreciate or value it (Brooks, Manias, & Bloomer, 2019).
  • The concept of continuous learning will empower more nurses and medical professionals to understand such attitudes and be in a position to offer exemplary services. A good example is the decision to pursue additional academic programs focusing on the importance of cultural diversity in healthcare.

Discussions

Cultural beliefs, attitudes, views, and values are essential in the field of healthcare delivery. People from a specific region or race will develop unique notions that guide them whenever focusing on medical services. This fact explains why some individuals might not be willing to visit modern hospitals since they prefer traditional healing practices. Other groups are too religious or willing to put God first before seeking medical services.

This analysis explains why such individuals should be guided to engage in prayers and fasting to improve the healing process. The presence of diversity in cultural values emerges as a leading factor for diversities in health outcomes (Brooks et al., 2019). This is true since some people might be unwilling to embrace modern practices and procedures in healthcare. Policymakers should, therefore, consider this issue in order to implement superior laws and projects that can minimize this gap.

In any given healthcare unit, medical professionals will have to offer high-quality services to patients with diverse backgrounds. Under such circumstances, it is appropriate for every expert to be aware of the existing cultural similarities and differences. As described above, a given unit might have two patients from the same region but with diverse opinions regarding the power of traditional medicine. This means that the leaders of the department will have to consider the most appropriate regimes and combinations that will address the health demands of such individuals (Brooks et al., 2019). They can go further to analyze their attitudes and offer timely guidance. The ultimate objective is to ensure that positive health results are recorded.

The concepts of patient autonomy and justice have become powerful guidelines for many physicians and doctors. Throughout the care delivery process, it is appropriate for clinicians to apply their competencies and maximize the experiences of the greatest number of patients. This argument explains why all NPs, nurse aides, and clinicians should receive adequate training and guidance (Rittle, 2015).

The purpose of such an initiative is to ensure that they are empowered to provide culturally competent care to every patient. This achievement will ensure that nurses are aware of their patient’s beliefs or values and integrate them within the introduced care delivery process. This strategy will make it possible for health professionals to work in various clinical settings and meet the medical demands of persons with diverse backgrounds.

Cultural values and attitudes are integral attributes that dictate people’s expectations, beliefs, and procedures for pursuing different aims. Harkess and Kaddoura (2016) go further to indicate that individuals will always possess different opinions or expectations when seeking health services. With this kind of knowledge, it is necessary for medical facilities and leaders to design and implement appropriate medical procedures that are informed by such cultural attributes or traditions. The end result is that practitioners and their managers will form multidisciplinary teams to offer personalized, sustainable, and appropriate medical support to the targeted patients (Brooks et al., 2019).

Traditional medicine will also be available to those who prefer or appreciate it. The involvement of different family members will streamline the process and ensure that positive outcomes are recorded within a short time.

Finally, there is a need for medical professionals to identify new ways for developing or acquiring additional competencies. Although they might be skilled providers of personalized or culturally competent care, the concept of continuous learning will make it easier for them to acquire numerous skills. This achievement will empower them to minimize the challenges associated with the global healthcare sector and reduce disparities in the availability of medical services (Rittle, 2015).

Those who focus on this suggestion will be willing to interact with more people from different cultures or regions. Another good example is the decision to pursue additional academic programs focusing on the importance of cultural diversity in healthcare. These developments will result in a new curriculum change and make cultural competence a critical skill for students of nursing or medicine. Those who are currently in practice will become proficient and continue to provide advanced care or services to their respective patients.

Summary Report

The above discussion has described how culture, religion, and attitudes can influence how individuals understand or pursue health concepts. This kind of behavior explains why many people would be keen to make decisions that revolve around their beliefs. This issue or situation is a causal factor for the major gaps in health attainment. Clinicians and NPs should, therefore, receive adequate training or advice in order to understand the importance of cultural attitudes and values in the healthcare sector. This knowledge will make it easier for them to develop appropriate models that will eventually support the delivery of personalized medical services.

They will go further to engage family members and other professionals in order to deliver high-quality services. The concept of continuous learning will support this objective and eventually transform the image of the global health sector.

References

Brooks, L. A., Manias, E., & Bloomer, M. J. (2019). Culturally sensitive communication in healthcare: A concept analysis. Collegian, 26(3), 383-391. Web.

Harkess, L., & Kaddoura, M. (2016). Culture and cultural competence in nursing education and practice: The state of the art. Nursing Forum: An Independent Voice for Nursing, 51(3), 211-222. Web.

Rittle, C. (2015). Multicultural nursing: Providing better employee care. Professional Practice, 63(12), 532-538. Web.