Cultural Characteristics

Question 1

What are the two characteristics of culture?

Answer 1

Primary characteristics of culture
Secondary characteristics of culture

Question 2

Characteristic of culture that refers to nationality, race, color, gender, age and religious affiliation

Answer 2

Primary characteristics of culture

Question 3

Characteristic of culture that refers to socio-economic status, physical characteristics, educational status, occupational status, place of residence (rural or urban)

Answer 3

Secondary characteristics of culture

Question 4

General areas to assess when first meeting the patient include the following:

Answer 4

1. Perceptions of health and illness
2. Use of traditional remedies and folk practitioners
3. Perceptions of nurses, hospitals, and the care delivery system
4. Beliefs about the role of family and family relationships
5. Perceptions of and need for emotional support

Question 5

Specific guidelines for assessment:

Answer 5

1. Identify patient’s primary language
2. Observe the interactions between the patient and family – who makes decisions, how decisions are made, who is the primary caregiver
3. Listen to the patient – what he wants
4. Consider the patient’s communication abilities and patterns – manners of speaking and non-verbal cues
5. Explore customs and taboos
6. Be oriented to the individual’s and family’s sense of time and time frames
7. Determine which communication approaches are appropriate symbolic objects and activities that provide comfort and security
8. Assess the patient’s religious practices

Question 6

LEARN model

LEARN stands for…

Answer 6

L – Listen with sympathy and understanding to the patient’s perception of the problem

E – Explain your perceptions of the problem

A - Acknowledge and discuss the differences and similarities

R – Recommend approaches to treatment

N – Negotiate agreement

Question 7

Three types of interpreters

Answer 7

Ad hoc interpreters
Family members and friends
Professional trained interpreters

Question 8

Can make clinically significant error in interpretation unlike professional interpreters

• this can be family, friends, non clinical hospital employees

Answer 8

Ad hoc interpreters

Question 9

May inhibit communication with the nurse and violate the patient’s right to privacy and confidentiality

-they may omit portions of the content they believe to be unnecessary or unacceptable

Answer 9

Family members and friends

Question 10

Can convey messages verbatim and work under a established code of ethics and confidentiality

 -can be used for assessment, teaching, and other important interactions

Answer 10

Professional trained interpreters

Question 11

Teaching strategies for partially fluent in English:

Answer 11

1. Speak slowly and distinctly and allow twice as much time for the teaching session
2. Use simple sentences, relying on an active rather than a passive voice
3. Avoid medical jargon
4. Organize instructional material in a logical order
5. Do not assume that the patient understands what has been said- ask patient to explain what they heard by using the teach back approach or a return demonstration

Question 12

Four major Subcultural Ethnic Groups

Answer 12

Hispanic/Latino Culture
Black/African American Culture
Asian/Pacific Islander Culture
American Indian/Alaska Native Culture

Question 13

-higher rates of diabetes, AIDS, obesity, alcohol-related illnesses and mortality from homicide
-Access to health care is limited both by choice and unavailability of health services
-25% of them live below the poverty line

Answer 13

Hispanic/Latino Culture

Question 14

Their health beliefs affect their decisions to seek traditional care.
- existence of folklore practices: use of herbs, teas, home remedies, OTC drugs
- health healers: curanderos or espiritista (speak Spanish and at lower costs)

Answer 14

Hispanic/Latino Culture

Question 15

heating or chilling is the traditional cure for parts of the body afflicted by disease

Answer 15

Hispanic/Latino Culture

Question 16

Diseases of hot and cold believed to be caused by an imbalanced intake of foods or ingestion of foods at extreme opposites in temperature
cold air = joint pain
cold womb = barrenness in women

Answer 16

Hispanic/Latino culture

Question 17

Diseases of dislocation of internal organs, cured by massage or physical maal ojo nipulation of body parts

Answer 17

Hispanic/Latino Culture

Question 18

evil eye, magical origin

Answer 18

Mol Ojo

Question 19

diseases of emotional origin, attributed to sudden or prolonged terror

Answer 19

Susto

Question 20

folk defined diseases

Answer 20

Latido

Question 21

—Have suffered a long history of inequality in social, economic, and educational opportunity
—Average life span is shorter than white Americans from cancer, CV disease, cirrhosis, diabetes, homicides, and infant mortality
—Higher risk for drug and alcohol abuse, drug addiction, teenaged pregnancy and STDs

Answer 21

Black/African American Culture

Question 22

Diabetes and hypertension continue to be the most serious problems for them, with higher morbidity and mortality rates

Answer 22

Black/African American Culture

Question 23

Pessimistic:

1. The world is a hostile and dangerous place to live
2. The individual is vulnerable to attack from external forces
3. The individual is considered helpless, with few internal resources with which to combat adversity

Answer 23

Black/African American Culture

Question 24

—Spirituality and religiosity are very much a prominent cultural component of this ethnic group
—Extended family is common
—Single parenting is an accepted position without stigma attached to it
—Becoming a mother at a young age, is met with a fairly high level of tolerance

Answer 24

Black/African American Culture

Question 25

consist of beliefs about good or evil spirits inhabiting the world

Answer 25

Voodoo

Question 26

—Respect is automatically given to most HCPs who are thought of as knowledgeable
—They are sensitive and formal – use a nonthreatening approach
—They must be given permission to ask a question but are not offended by questions from others

Answer 26

Asian/Pacific Islander Culture

Question 27

What culture is Amae or childlike dependency if they are ill?

Answer 27

Japanese culture

Question 28

—Passive learners – no personal opinions, no confrontations, no challenges and no outward disagreements
—Male authority figure in decision making

Answer 28

Asian/Pacific Islander Culture

Question 29

—See a close connection between religion and health
—Some tribes practice witchcraft (shaman)
—Cornmeal is an item that is frequently used in a variety of curative ceremonies
—To be without a family of many relatives is considered to be very poor

Answer 29

American Indian/Alaska Native Culture

Question 30

—Grandmothers are of particularly great importance to a sick child
—Children are given a great deal of freedom to learn from their decisions and live with the consequences of their actions
—Tend not to live by clocks and schedules

Answer 30

American Indian/Alaska Native Culture

Question 31

—They are not future-oriented; they take one day at a time
—Funerals are accompanied by large feasts and sharing of gifts

Answer 31

American Indian/Alaska Native Culture

Question 32

They view children as an asset

Answer 32

American Indian/Alaska Native Culture

Question 33

—is any commonly known public belief about a certain social group or a type of individual
—Can be useful and acceptable process to organize or classify people if based on facts and logical reasoning that helps them to identify and understand information

Answer 33

Stereotyping

Question 34

—Describe a negative impression associated with an individual’s status that triggers physiological and psychological behaviors in patients as well as in providers
—“We vs They” gap

Answer 34

Stereotype threat

Question 35

Reduce gender stereotyping and social discrimination

Answer 35

Gender fair language