Nursing

Post an explanation of the specific socioeconomic, spiritual, lifestyle, and other cultural factors associated with the patient you were assigned. Explain the issues that you would need to be sensitive to when interacting with the patient, and why. Provide at least five targeted questions you would ask the patient to build his or her health history and to assess his or her health risks.

CASE STUDY:

JC, an at-risk 86-year-old Asian male is physically and financially dependent on his daughter, a single mother who has little time or money for her father’s health needs. He has ahx of hypertension (HTN), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), b12 deficiency, and chronic prostatitis. He currently takes Lisinopril 10mg QD, Prilosec 20mg QD, B12 injections monthly, and Cipro 100mg QD. He comes to you for an annual exam and states “I came for my annual physical exam, but do not want to be a burden to my daughter.”

To prepare:

• Reflect on the specific socioeconomic, spiritual, lifestyle, and other cultural factors related to the health of the patient assigned to you.
• Consider how you would build a health history for the patient. What questions would you ask, and how would you frame them to be sensitive to the patient’s background, lifestyle, and culture? Develop five targeted questions you would ask the patient to build his or her health history and to assess his or her health risks.
• Think about the challenges associated with communicating with patients from a variety of specific populations. What strategies can you as a nurse employ to be sensitive to different cultural factors while gathering the pertinent information?

INSTRUCTION:

Post an explanation of the specific socioeconomic, spiritual, lifestyle, and other cultural factors associated with the patient you were assigned. Explain the issues that you would need to be sensitive to when interacting with the patient, and why. Provide at least five targeted questions you would ask the patient to build his or her health history and to assess his or her health risks.

ANSWER

Cultural Competence in Healthcare

Introduction

The increased diversity of nations has influenced healthcare practices due to culturally competent services. Cultural competence is considered as the capability of healthcare providers to efficiently deliver better healthcare services to achieve the social, cultural, and spiritual demands of the patients (Kumar, Bhattacharya, Sharma and Thiyagarajan, 2019). Therefore, cultural competence entails understanding the patient’s background, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, sexual orientation and lifestyle. Understanding that there are many diverse individuals, a health practitioner needs to have the cultural competence to effectively assess the patient with knowledge of their family and personal health histories.

Older Asians have reported higher rates of physical and mental health issues. The health disparities among the older Asians has affected the entire population due to increase in the levels of healthcare spending in long term care (Claramita, Nugraheni, van Dalen and van der Vleuten, 2013). Studies have indicated a trend towards low health status for the older Asians living in areas with high levels of poverty and low health access due to lack of premiums and insurance. With regards to this scenario, Mr J. C., cannot financially support himself and highly depends on his daughter, who has been financially burdened by her father’s needs. Regarding the information provided, his daughter is in the working class and has to provide for her children as a single much and support her father, who is at the poverty level.

In the Asian population families and households are fundamental institutions in the lives of the people. Families determine the context of an individual and offer capacity for collective financial resource and emotional sharing. The Asian population lifestyle increasingly focuses on the value of family as one. Parents have a specific role and position in the family with regards to hierarchy. Parents are expected to uphold specific duties in the family. The older adults are valued and honored, and thus it’s the norm of the adult children to offer care for their parents as they age. With regards to Mr J.C, there is a similar pattern where the daughter is taking care of the father by taking responsibilities and roles as the caregiver for her father since it is their custom. Therefore, it is essential as a health practitioner to be culturally competent regarding the customs of the patient. If the parent can no longer afford to care for themselves, the healthcare practitioner should notice the children who take care of the parent.

While interacting with the patient, there are issues that the health practitioner needs to be sensitive about. Some of the issues include cultural practices and spiritual background beliefs. It is essential to ask about the specific religious practices, beliefs and restrictions that are associated with their care to achieve their healthcare need better. It is essential to understand the health history of the patient to offer treatment based on their health history and beliefs (Ball et al., 2015). For instance, religion and spirituality have a long-standing influence on the lives of Asian Americans (Ai, Bjorck, Appel and Huang, 2013).

Targeted Questions

1. How often do you go for physical examinations?
2. Why do you feel as if you are a bother and burden to your daughter?
3. Do you feel that you can afford all your medications?
4. How much support do you receive from your daughter in terms of healthcare needs?
5. Are there any specific cultural and religious practices that should be considered during healthcare treatment?

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is essential to offer culturally competent care to individuals or group of people since it is a critical factor in assessing the needs of the patients as well as appropriate interventions and treatments. Being aware of certain practices improves the healthcare outcome, eliminates the racial and ethnic health disparities and improves the quality of care. The healthcare practitioner needs to ask specific questions to build health history and examine health risks.

References

Ai, A. L., Bjorck, J. P., Appel, H. B., & Huang, B. (2013). Asian American spirituality and religion: Inherent diversity, uniqueness, and long-lasting psychological influences. In K. I. Pargament, J. J. Exline, J. W. Jones (Eds.) , APA handbook of psychology, religion, and spirituality (Vol 1): Context, theory, and research (pp. 581-598). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/14045-032

Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2015). Seidel’s guide to physical examination (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.

Claramita, M., Nugraheni, M. F., van Dalen, J., & van der Vleuten, C. (2013). Doctor-patient communication in Southeast Asia: a different culture? Advances In Health Sciences Education: Theory And Practice, 18(1), 15-31.

Kumar, R., Bhattacharya, S., Sharma, N., & Thiyagarajan, A. (2019). Cultural competence in family practice and primary care setting. Journal of family medicine and primary care, 8(1), 1.