The Chinese culture integrates nature, Tao, and heaven’s unity and advocates for unity and harmony (Wang, 2019). The culture recognizes and tolerates diversity and promotes commonality and holism to ensure diversity and unity are in harmony. Conflict avoidance is essential to societal reputation and inner peace in this culture. The Chinese culture nurtures a strong feeling of responsibility and obligation to one’s family, with a minimal concentration on personal independence. In family and society, relationship hierarchy is commonly observed, with authority to make decisions on behalf of the family being held by the oldest male. Politeness, self-control, emotional restraint, and deference to people in positions of authority are Chinese culture’s foundational tenets. Protection of the old and the young is an essential virtue where withholding adverse information from an older adult or relative is perceived as loving and kind (Cannon & Tsang, 2018). Similarly, in China, people adhere to the concept of evil and good karma. In addition, they believe thinking or discussing death will alter the body’s critical inner harmony. This paper discusses the health practices of the Chinese culture.
The People’s Republic of China is a nation in East Asia and has the world’s highest population with approximately not less than 1.4 billion people. The landscape of the country varies majorly across its extensive width. In the north, the country has broad grasslands and high plateaus, while in the east, it has vast alluvial plains. In the south, the country has low mountains and hills, while in the central-east, there is the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, which are the two major rivers of China (Zhang & Ma, 2020). China’s climate is dominated mainly by wet monsoons and dry seasons, resulting in noticeable temperature differences between summer and winter. The climate differs in various areas as a result of the country’s very complex topography with the altitude also varying in various areas. The country’s physical geography affects its agricultural production and species which plays an essential role in its traditional diet.
One of the traditional diets of the Chinese culture is Sichuan cuisine. The dish is famous both in and out of China with a wide range and variety of ingredients. The ingredients include wild game from mountainous regions, aquatic products, animal and poultry meat, lots of fresh vegetables, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and fungus (Zhang & Ma, 2020). The diet also contains various fine-textured cultivated and fermented condiments including Nanchong Dongcai, Xufu sprouts, Chengdu and Maowen pepper, Pixian beans paste, Deyang soy sauce, Zigong well salts, and Neijiang white sugars. These outlined ingredients offer a foundation for the lovely dishes with rich and deep flavor in Sichuan Cuisine. The cooking methods of these dishes include soy sauce stewing, salting, quick-scalding, pan baking, smoking, stewing, deep-frying, braising, pan-frying, and stir-frying. The dish comes in various tastes including salty, spicy, sweet, and sour. The dish emphasizes the excessive use of condiments and salts and excess edible oil when cooking and animal viscera that contains cholesterol and fat (Zhang & Ma, 2020). Excessive consumption of dietary sodium in the diet results in high rates of hypertension. Similarly, the excessive consumption of animal fat increases the danger of obesity, fatty liver, and cardiovascular disease.
The health perspective in Chinese culture focuses on balancing between Yang and Yin forces, and qi which is the vital energy that flows between the body and its environment. For the health to be maintained five elements including water, metal, earth, fire, and wood have to be kept in equilibrium (Cannon & Tsang, 2018).. The elements signify a cycle of nature that corresponds to a body’s response to disease or illness, human life stages, and bodily functions. Disturbance of this natural process maybe due to external forces such as contaminated food and water, emotional trauma, or weather, which is believed to be a source of imbalance that leads to sickness.
Some of the common healing practices in the Chinese culture include folk healers, massage therapy, foods, and traditional herbs used to supplement prescribed meds or prevent illness (Cannon & Tsang, 2018). Usage of traditional Chinese medicine is widespread among first-generation immigrants and among individuals with significant gaps in acculturation. Chinese medicine uses animal products, seeds, minerals, and plants often used together and can interact adversely with drugs used in western medicine. The traditional Chinese healing practices are alleged to promote health by ensuring a balance between yang and yin, supporting the flow of qi to sustain balance and well-being, relieving pain and inflammation, and boosting the body’s immune system. Any medical procedure alleged to interfere with the flow of qi which is believed to be the vital energy in the body may be rejected for the fear of it resulting to harm or causing death (Cannon & Tsang, 2018). However, it’s advised that a care provider considers if the refusal or agitation of an older patient to participate in a given healthcare plan is based on their health care beliefs or it’s due to confusion or dementia.
In the United States there has been claims of cultural insensitivity in the healthcare system, where care providers lack cultural diversity awareness include the influence of culture on patient’s attitude, beliefs, and values and also the recognition and respect of individual differences. Culturally sensitive care shows understanding and respect for people supports a patient’s satisfaction and that of their family (Brooks et al., 2019). However, in the case of individuals of a Chinese decent they can be victims of culturally insensitive care as physicians and other care providers may be not be well prepared on the values and beliefs of the Chinese culture. Care that isn’t culturally sensitive affects a patient’s satisfaction with their perception and experience of care, a higher miscommunication risk and may lead to cultural disparity which can result in poor treatment adherence, undesirable healthcare outcomes, and increased prevalence of negative care incidences among individuals of a Chinese decent. To ensure cultural sensitivity I would provide education programs that focus on equipping physicians with the needed skills and knowledge to allow them utilize culturally sensitive communication with individuals with diverse backgrounds with an aim of increased cultural awareness and enhanced patient satisfaction (Brooks et al., 2019).
Conclusion
The Chinese culture is a unique culture that recognizes and tolerates diversity and promotes commonality and holism to ensure diversity and unity are in harmony. In regard to health, the Chinese culture focuses on balancing between Yang and Yin forces, and qi which is the vital energy that flows between the body and its environment. Disturbance of this natural process is believed to be a source of imbalance that leads to sickness. Some of the common healing practices in the Chinese culture include folk healers, massage therapy, foods, and traditional herbs used to supplement prescribed meds or prevent illness. In the USA, individuals of Chinese origin are subject to culturally insensitive care that affects their care outcomes.
References
Brooks, L. A., Manias, E., & Bloomer, M. J. (2019). Culturally sensitive communication in healthcare: A concept analysis. Collegian, 26(3), 383-391.
Cannon, M., & Tsang, C. (2018). Perspective on cultural competency: A review of Chinese culture. Nursing2020, 48(12), 56-60.
Wang, Y. (2019). The scientific nature of traditional Chinese medicine in the post-modern era. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medical Sciences, 6(3), 195-200.
Zhang, N., & Ma, G. (2020). Nutritional characteristics and health effects of regional cuisines in China. Journal of Ethnic Foods, 7(1), 1-10.
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