Introduction and Background
Being able to provide culturally competent care in our increasingly multicultural community is the basis of nurses’ and other medical staff’s responsibilities. In terms of the paper, I will expound on the healthcare concepts, communication styles, and cultural considerations that are normally used by the Mexican American community in seeking healthcare.
Mexican Americans are individuals living in the United States whose native origin is Mexico or who have mixed-blood Mexican and American ancestors. When it comes to Mexican immigrants, there are a total of 35 million in the USA, which represents 11% of the entire US population in 2020 (Funk & Lopez, 2022). Mexican American culture came about from an assured blend of native Mesoamerican and European Spanish cultures and customs. Family and its value, in particular, the principle of the family, is strictly respected and preserved in their cultural heritage. Also, the importance of religion and respect for macho are deeply rooted in their daily lives. The percentage of people speaking Spanish amounts to about 59 percent of Mexican Americans.
Common healthcare burdens and issues in the country
Contrasted with that of a classical Mexican American faith, the classic belief encompasses the notion of “color y frio,” which denotes illness as the imbalance of the hot and cold elements within the body. Herbal medications, such as beverages, are often utilized as therapy. Many religious beliefs, as fright sickness does, also tend to influence people’s perceptions of health. The family takes the most immediate position, where family members usually take part in health care decisions. The role of the person in the community is important, as a priority for authorities such as doctors is reflected. Attitudes toward native culture can impact areas like food, choice of natural methods, and preferences on therapeutic guidelines approval.
Lifestyle and Health
Hispanic American culture can be characterized by specific dietary habits and physical activities that contribute to health conditions. Conventional foods contain a lot of fat and carbohydrates (Overcash & Reicks, 2021). The rates of obesity and other nutrition-related disorders like diabetes on average are higher than those of the U.S. population. Notwithstanding, the avidness for physical activity is also valued across cultural barriers and is found to be more profound in the younger generation. The notion of culture being tied to one’s ethnicity may result in a low perception of the information provided by non-Hispanic health educators.
My healthcare beliefs
As a native speaker of the Anglo-American linguistic ethnic group born in a non-religious home, my healthcare ideas stand on empirically founded Western medicine. I place a major bet on hard scientific evidence, not spiritual or traditional relics. Along these lines, I have a way of being a bit individualistic in my thinking that may be very different from the collective familial perspective of Mexican Americans. Understanding the gap helps us build more strategies for culture-sensitive approaches in care.
Communication and cultural considerations
For medical professionals dealing with Mexican American patients, it is crucial to spare time to establish trust and an empathic relationship. Staff speaking in two languages, using professional interpreters whenever necessary, addressing the patient in a polite tone, and being careful with non-verbal communication themes (for instance, touch) are essential (Molina-Mula & Gallo-Estrada, 2020). Practitioners may have to spend extra time explaining all the treatment-related nuances and details. The opinion that the participation of the family in decision-making should be considered and built upon is evident. Non-judgmentally asking about the remedies a patient uses from time to time can also facilitate understanding.
Health Disparities
Healthcare inequality and outcomes for Hispanic Mexicans can be reported by socioeconomic status, linguistic obstacles, migrants’ statuses, and providers’ conscious and unconscious biases. A level of knowledge aimed at addressing the shortage in the dispensation of preventative screenings, the increasing number of uncontrolled chronic conditions, and the possibility of medical errors in communication between language barriers is essential.
Madeline Leininger’s theory
Madeline Leininger’s Theory of Culture Care Diversity and universality are the ones that give us a good viewpoint on cultural aspects being an integral part of medicine. According to the theory, care is the source of people’s thoughts, ideas, and communications, which make up culture. A caring approach that is suited culturally to the patient will also be more meaningful, satiating, and desirable. Thus, elaborating on the theory means becoming acquainted with not only emic (culturally specific) but also phenotypic (culturally oriented) views of the patient’s worldview while adopting a culturally adequate approach to care.
Comparing My Culture
Being more American than these Mexican admitted patients, my communication style and cultural views toward healthcare are quite centralized. I have to be watchful of the way I tend to use a more straightforward, efficiency-oriented communication style on my side, with my Mexican-American cultural counterparts having a preference for respectful personal rapport-building communication. Another vital area of contrast is individualism versus family-orientedness, a difference that I should not underestimate.
Conclusion
Providing competent healthcare to Mexican-American patients involves the understanding of many cultural elements concerning people’s worldview on matters of health and illness, types of nutrition, communication patterns, and the role of families. Through the gaps that become the main substance of various dialogues, which may include mutual respect and face-to-face interaction, we can also manage them.
References
Funk, C., & Lopez, M. H. (2022, June 14). A brief statistical portrait of U.S. Hispanics. Pew Research Center Science & Society. https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2022/06/14/a-brief-statistical-portrait-of-u-s-hispanics/
Molina-Mula, J., & Gallo-Estrada, J. (2020). Impact of nurse-patient Relationship on Quality of Care and Patient Autonomy in decision-making. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(3), 835. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17030835
Overcash, F., & Reicks, M. (2021). Diet Quality and Eating Practices among Hispanic/Latino Men and Women: NHANES 2011–2016. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(3), 1302. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18031302
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