Introduction
Healthcare providers develop the heritage assessment to help in cultivating a therapeutic relationship and the way they approach health care. Use of heritage assessment as a tool provides information to the way healthcare is approached for various cultural backgrounds that a healthcare provider may associate with. It is good to have succinct knowledge of multicultural setting with the realm of healthcare. This helps in bolstering efforts towards the attainment of main care role of nursing. Therefore, when nurses are working in multicultural settings, they should focus on availing care that goes with a particular culture. Additionally, this care should be customized and suitable for the target patient traditions.
Heritage Assessment
A positive relationship between a nurse and a patient needs to be guided by the ideals of mutual respect and understanding of the patient’s health and cultural beliefs and religious practices. The heritage assessment tool gives details of the parameters that nurses require while examining the impacts of cultural settings on the patient. They need to evaluate the beliefs on illnesses and wellness. The cultural ties directly implicate the administration of healthcare. This includes acceptable messages of health promotion, preventive care, old-age care services, and curative care. Having a comprehensive understanding of the patient’s beliefs and how they feel about health and wellness assists the nurses in providing health care and embracing the opportunity to communicate effectively (Clark, 2002).
An attempt to document the impacts of various values within the culture that may be closely associated with healthcare and clinical procedures is made one has the information on Asian, African American, and Mexican cultures. The heritage of Asian family has rich traditions, concrete spiritual philosophies, and beliefs. The family unit among the Asians makes an integral part of life. Asian families have regular get-togethers and reunions where all relatives are invited to the family gathering as asserted by Bateman, Abesamis-Mendoza, & Ho-Asjoe (2009). Living conditions for the Asians include multiple family members living in one house. Asian families prioritize and revered elderly members of the family. Additionally, it is common to see elderly members of the family being cared for at home instead of confining them in a nursing home. Asians consider this as disrespectful, and it is forbidden. Most of the Asians practice the Christian faith.
When it comes to matters health, Asian families stay together while ensuring the wellbeing of each member of the family. Asians also see some diseases and mental health issues as an exception to some rule because of the families’ strong religious beliefs and practicing of customary values linked to the mental illnesses and some negative spirits attacking a person’s body because of sinning against God. Where a family falls ill, the relative support them physically and emotionally thus assisting them to restore health. Most Asians such as the Filipinos use traditional Asian treatments like the herbal medicine. Therefore, they practice restorative treatments. Herbal medicine helps them to restore and maintain health. At home, Asians enjoy their culture delicacies while emphasizing on health diet thus enhancing body immunity. Asians maintain health traditions across generations through mentorships, cultural events, and apprenticeship (Bateman, Abesamis-Mendoza, & Ho-Asjoe, 2009).
The other people are the African Americans where their cultural systems were hindered when they arrive in America. African Americans have deeply rooted their cultural values and beliefs in Africa mainly the Sub-Saharan Africa (Quaye, 2005). They are different from the Asians in how they are deeply connected while focusing more on get-togethers and annual reunions. Family members rarely see each other unless for special occasions. They made their contact through the telephone where the rest of the family members may provide support or advice if needed. Most African Americans also practice Christianity but on special occasions. It has been stated that others congregate with others of the same faith outside the church setting. In matters regarding health care, families consider diseases and other health issues as growing old. There are some common illnesses such as cardiac diseases and hypertension that are culturally common within the African American heritage.
Quaye (2005) says that African Americans do not talk freely about an ailing family member. However, they discuss it among themselves. They also use mainstream means of treatment and therapeutic approaches. However, they base their health restoration to a healthy diet. They may also seek prolonged treatment and life sustainment when a member is suffering a terminal illness. They occasionally seek preventive care and medical support systems during health fairs such as screening for sicknesses like breast cancer. African Americans retain their health traditions through kingship which is then extended to social networks in which close members of the extended family pass the treatment traditions and beliefs from one generation to another.
According to West (2005), Mexicans are different from the Asians and African Americans in that a family has no or very little contact with relatives since most of their immediate, and extended family members are in Mexico. However, the family members are always contacting one another via the telephone and social media. However, physical contact across the border rarely happens. Most Mexicans are Catholics and attend mass regularly. As far as diseases are concerned, they are viewed as being caused by jealousy against the ailing or due to imbalance of hotness and cold. Mexicans also practice herbal treatments as a form of tradition thus fending off the diseases keeping the ailing family member warm. They also utilize oil thus ensuring the patient has been protected against dehydration. Families use traditional cure such as “Curanderos” to restore health or conditional care for diseases like the diabetes. Mexicans also pass home remedies from one generation to another. During chronic disease conditions, they do health restoration and maintenance through conventional treatment, but only the father has been persuaded of the usefulness of doing this by the mother (West, 2005).
Conclusion
The three families, Asian, African American, and Mexico show contrasting ideas and beliefs of they traditionally maintain health and wellness many years after they arrived in America. However, it can be seen that they share a common belief in their faith and religious practice. This is an indication that their value system towards restoring and feeling that they are under the protection of Christian faith. When the three families are planning for wellness, maintenance of health, and restorative care, they consider the family background, beliefs, and values regarding the disease. They also develop interventional measures with which they can observe particular traditions together with cultural and religious values.
References
Bateman, W., Abesamis-Mendoza, N., & Ho-Asjoe, H. (2009). Praeger Handbook of Asian
American Health: Taking Notice and Taking Action, Volume 1. Santa Barbara, CA:
ABC-CLIO publishers.
Clark, C. C. (2002). Health Promotion in Communities: Holistic and Wellness Approaches. New
York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
Quaye, R. (2005). African Americans’ Health Care Practices, Perspectives, and Needs.
Washington, D.C.: University Press of America.
West, J. (2005). Mexican-American Folklore. Armonk, NY: august house
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