Essay on Culture Competence

This world contains a kaleidoscope of individuals and cultures: people have a wide range of ethnic identification, religion, material reality, beliefs and behaviors that lead to rich diversity and cultural complexity.

In the global context, however, Caucasian people, though the minority, generally speaking have far greater economic resources and political power. Hence, they have more access to health care services and are more likely to be the ones providing services to others in a multi-cultural environment. (Ndiwane & Miller, 2004)

There are many possible differences between the patients, for example: illness, personality, socioeconomic class, or education. But the most significant differences may be cultural. Many health professionals think that if they just treat each patient with respect, they will avert most cultural problems. But some knowledge of cultural customs can help avoid misunderstandings and enable health services professionals to provide a better care. (Jeffreys, 2006)

At birth humans must begin to adjust to a natural environment in which oxygen sustains life and to a social environment in which culture sustains life. Only when deprived of oxygen or of the usual cultural supports do people realize how crucial both are to existence. In the case of culture, this can occur when people leave their home culture or when they interact with others from different cultural backgrounds. Both scenarios have become increasingly common as global travel and population movements result in frequent cross-cultural interaction. (Jeffreys, 2006) This interaction contains the potential for enhanced communication and understanding but it also contains the possibility of miscommunication and misunderstanding.

This is very evident in all areas of medicine; for example the health care professional and the patient may come from different cultural backgrounds and view the entire situation in very different ways.

People usually learn their core values, beliefs and attitudes early in life and change them only with great difficulty. They may resist discussion of them, considering them personal, private, or even sacred. Frequently these elements of nonmaterial culture may be learned by outsiders only through lengthy and careful observation.

Religious beliefs provide one of the best examples of the importance of nonmaterial culture in medicine. People in many cultures believe that illness, accidents, disability, and even death are supernatural punishments for the misbehavior of either the patient or a member of the patient’s family. Sometimes powerful emotions such as jealousy and anger are blamed for such misfortunes; these emotions may have been unleashed in the past, even before the patient was born. If that is the case, taking a patient’s history entails more than recording relevant medical information; it means an examination of the psychosocial background of the patient’s relatives and ancestors.

People in the patient’s culture may see disability as something to be hidden, while the therapist’s goal is to reintegrate the patient into society. The patient and her family may be very resistant to the rehabilitation professionals’ efforts since they cannot imagine a culture in which people with disabilities (PWDs) assume public roles. If all of the people involved in this situation – patient, family, medical personnel – understand each other’s cultural perspectives, it is more likely that the therapeutic outcome will be successful.