Culture, Ethnicty, Diversity And Aging Flashcards
Interest in culture is stimulated by 3 major issues:
- Gerontological explosion
- The impact of Canadian policies on multiculturalism established in 1971
- Health disparities for members of ethnocultural minorities
The gerontological explosion and culture
-Population of Canada is becoming more diverse
-Canada is officially a multicultural society (Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms)
-Estimated by 2036 between 25-30% of Canadian population will be immigrants and 35-40% will belong to a viable minority
-Currently 13.6% of Canadian as most often speak a language other than french or English with about 23% of older persons having a mother tongue other than French or English
Health Disparities
-Low socioeconomic status
-Indigenous identity
-Sex and Gender minority identity
-Racism
-Immigrant status
-Living with a functional limitation
-Less than high school education
-Living in areas of high social and material deprivation
-Living in a rural or remote area
Health disparities indigenous
-Compared to non-indigenous people, indigenous people are less likely to report very good or excellent health and are more likely to report fair or poor health
-Reasons for this include housing quality, access to safe drinking water, educational attainment, employment, income, and barriers to accessing health services
Underlying health disparities indigenous Canadians
-Colonialism
-Policies of assimilation
-Racism
-Health systems and planning that do not incorporate indigenous world views
Health Disparities and Immigrants
-Members of viable minority groups and immigrants tend to have worse health than the rest of the population
-Long term immigrants have higher rates of diabetes, cancer, TB, cardiovascular disease, and mental illness compared to Canadian born
-Most recent immigrants are not eligible for social security benefits until they’ve lived in Canada 10+ years
Health disparities and barriers to health for immigrants
-Cultural values and beliefs that can influence seeking health care
-Language barriers
-Lack of interpretation services
-Absence of ethnospecific programs
-Lack of health care providers who understand the persons culture
Stereotype
-A belief applied to a group of persons on the basis of actual or assumed knowledge of an individual member of the group
-Nurses should be aware of and work to diminish stereotypes
Cultural Knowledge
-Both what the nurse brings to a caring situation and what the nurse learns about older adults, their families, their communities, their behaviours, and their expectations
Reducing Health Disparities
-Health care providers must be aware of barriers to health care
-A national seniors strategy consistent with the principles of primary health care is being called for to address determinants of health of older adults
-The goal is to become culturally proficient not just competent
-Be aware of discrimination of not only visible minorities but also of sexual orientation in older adult pop
Cultural Awareness
-Openness and self-reflection; consider whether one holds any personal beliefs about such persons, how they affect care delivery, and whether they are based on facts
-Recognize the presence of the isms such as racism and ageism
Cultural Knowledge
-What a nurse brings to the caring situation as well as what a nurse learns about older adults, their families, their communities, their behaviours, and their expectations
-Essential knowledge includes the persons way of life, thinking, believing, acting
Western or Biomedical System
-Disease is thought to be the result of abnormalities in the structure and function of the body organs and systems; often caused by invasion of germs
-Treatment is based on removing or destroying the invading organisms or repairing, modifying, or removing the affected body part
-Preventions involves avoidance of pathogens, chemicals, activities, and dietary agents known to cause abnormalities
-Often mistakenly considered superior to all others; an ethnocentric point of view
Personalistic or Magicoreligious System
-The belief that illness is caused by the actions of the super rational such as god, deities, or nonhuman beings (ghosts, ancestors, spirits)
-Health is viewed as a blessing or reward of god
-Illness is a punishment for breach of rules, breaking a taboo, or failure to please the god, the ancestor, and so on
-More common in certain cultures (rural India) or religions (fundamentalist baptist church)
Naturalistic or Holistic Health System
-These are based on the concept of balance and stems from the ancient civilization of China, India, and Greece
-Views health as a sign of balance (right amount of exercise, food, sleep, evacuation , and interpersonal relationship
-Disturbances in the balance result in disharmony and subsequent illness
-Traditional Chinese medicine is based on this health belief system
