Generally, adopting cross-cultural attitude strategies is requisite in developing and enhancing practical communication abilities in intercultural situations. Cultural competence in healthcare is defined as healthcare givers’ ability to understand, respect, and effectively respond to diverse practices, beliefs, and needs of patients from different backgrounds (Merritt & Murphy, 2019). It incorporates acknowledging cultural influences on health behaviors, beliefs, and decision-making processes within the healthcare context. More importantly, it involves the maintenance and acquisition of specific skills from culture for two reasons. First, to function effectively in a new cultural context, and second, to effectively interact with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. This essay will delineate how culture affects health care and how to improve cultural competence.
Culture impacts healthcare significantly in multifaceted ways. First, it influences health practices and beliefs. For instance, different cultures have different perspectives on illness and health; therefore, some cultures prioritize alternative or holistic medicine over conventional treatment due to their deep-rooted cultural belief (Randolph et al., 2020). Some Asian cultures prefer acupuncture and traditional herbal remedies for specific ailments over pharmaceuticals. Second, culture affects how individuals perceive and seek health services. Language barriers pose a significant challenge to healthcare provision, hindering effective communication between patients and healthcare providers. This reverberates to misdiagnoses, misunderstandings, and inadequate treatment. To exemplify, a patient from a non-English speaking country background will need help articulating accurate symptoms, which may lead to misdiagnosis. Moreover, cultural norms and values influence the decision-making process in healthcare. In most cultures, healthcare decisions involve the whole family, not just an individual; therefore, understanding these dynamics is dispensable for healthcaregivers to ensure the values and preferences are well respected.
The improvement of healthcare is imperative for equitable and effective care delivery. Cultural competence may be improved in the following ways: one is through training and education approach. Professionals in healthcare may go through cultural competence training on diverse traditions, cultures, and health beliefs to learn. Similarly, medical hospitals and schools may offer workshops and courses on effective communication and cultural sensitivity strategies with diverse communities (Kaihlanen et al., 2019). Second, healthcare organizations must employ individuals from different cultures. A better understanding and connection with patients from different cultures is enhanced by having a diversified workforce. It fosters a good environment where all patients feel respected and understood, leading to improved healthcare outcomes.
Third, incorporating interpreters and translation services can significantly help bridge the language gap, facilitating effective communication between patients and healthcare providers. Providing multilingual materials and resources ensures that patients can access health information in their language. An exemplification of improved cultural competence is the “cultural competence assessment tool,” which is primarily utilized in health facilities to identify the areas of tailor interventions and improvements for effectively meeting the requirements of different patients.
In conclusion, this essay has elucidated how culture affects health care and how to improve cultural competence. By respecting and acknowledging different cultural backgrounds, healthcare givers can significantly improve communication, mitigate barriers, and enhance patient outcomes. As a result of education, language support, diversity in staffing, and tailored intervention in healthcare, a more significant cultural competence and effective healthcare services can be achieved irrespective of the cultural background.
References
Kaihlanen, A. M., Hietapakka, L., & Heponiemi, T. (2019). Increasing cultural awareness: a qualitative study of nurses’ perceptions about cultural competence training. BMC Nursing, 18(1), 1-9.
Merritt, L. S., & Murphy, N. L. (2019). International service-learning for nurse practitioner students: enhancing clinical practice skills and cultural competence. Journal of Nursing Education, 58(9), 548–551.
Randolph, S. D., Golin, C., Welgus, H., Lightfoot, A. F., Harding, C. J., & Riggins, L. F. (2020). How perceived structural racism and discrimination and medical mistrust in the health system influences participation in HIV health services for black women living in the United States South: a qualitative, descriptive study. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 31(5), 598-605.
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