Exam 4 (Ch 13- Factors Affecting Health) Flashcards
Culture
What people in a group have in common, but it changes over time.
Purnell and Paulanka define culture as
“the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, values, customs, lifeways, and all other products of human work and thought characteristics of population of people that guides their worldview and decision making.”
Characteristics of culture:
Culture is learned It is taught It is shared by its members It is Dynamic and Adaptive It is complex It is diverse It exists at many levels It has common beliefs and practices It is all-encompassing It provides identity
Bicultural
Describes a person who identifies with two cultures and integrates some of the values and lifestyles of each into his life.
Multicultural
Refers to many cultures. Describes groups rather than individuals.
Socialization
The process of learning to become a member of a society or a group. A person becomes socialized by learning social rules and roles, by learning the behaviors, norms, values, and perceptions of others in the same group or role.
Immigrants
New members of a group or country
Acculturation
Assuming the characteristics of another culture\
Cultural assimilation
When the new members of a group or country gradually learn and take on the essential values, beliefs, and behaviors of the dominant culture.
A person becomes assimilated when they:
- Learn to speak the dominant language,
- Marry a member from the new culture,
- and make close, personal relationships with members of the new group.
Ethnocentrism
The tendency to think that your own group (cultural, professional, ethnic, or social) is superior to others and to view behaviors and beliefs that differ greatly from your own as somehow wrong, strange, or unenlightened.
Dominant culture
The group that has the most authority or power to control values and reward or punish behaviors. It is usually, but not always, the largest group.
Subcultures
groups within a larger culture or social system that have some characteristics (e.g. values, behaviors, ancestry, ways of living) that are different from those of the dominant culture.
Minority groups
Made up of individuals who share race, religion, or ethnic heritage; however, a minority group has fewer members than the majority group.
Sometimes used to refer to a group of people who receive different and unequal treatment from others in society. Some consider it an offensive term b/c it suggests inferiority and marginalization
Vulnerable Populations
Groups who are more likely to develop health problems and experience poorer outcomes because of limited access to care, high-risk behaviors, and/or multiple and cumulative stressors.
e.g. people who are homeless, poor, or mentally ill; people with physical disabilities; the very young; and older adults.
Healthy People 2020
Public health initiative. Addresses the care of vulnerable populations and includes as one of 4 broad goals, the elimination of health inequalities.
Ethnicity
Similar to culture in that it refers to groups whose members share a common social and cultural heritage that is passed down from generation to generation. Similar to subculture and race.
Ethnic group
Group that has some characteristics in common (e.g., race, ancestry, physical characteristics, geographic region, lifestyle, religion) that are no shared or understood by outsiders.
e.g. French Canadians, Roman Catholics, Hmongs,and Latinos
U.S. Census Bureau identifies two categories for ethnicity:
1) Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish and
2) Not Hispanic, Latino or Spanish.
Subcategories of 1: Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and other Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin.
Latino
Refers only to people from Latin America (Central or South America)
Spanish origin:
Implies origin in Spain
Race
Strictly related to biology. It refers to the grouping of people based on biological similarities, such as skin color, blood type, or bone structure.
Religion
Refers to an ordered system of beliefs regarding the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially the beliefs related to the worship of a God or gods.
May be confused with ethnicity (e.g., the Jewish culture overlaps with Jewish faith community).
Values
Help shape health related beliefs and practices.
Personal value
A principle or standard that has meaning or worth to an individual
e.g. cleanliness
Belief
Something that one accepts as true
e.g. “I believe that germs cause disease”
A practice
A set of behaviors that one follows
e.g. I always wash my hands before preparing food
Dominant U.S culture values
youth, beauty, success, independence, and material belongings
Culture universals (culture commonalities)
the values, beliefs, and practices that people from all cultures share
e.g. all cultures celebrate the birth of a new baby in some way
Culture Specifics (Culture diversities)
Those values, beliefs, and practices that are special or unique to a culture.
e.g. cultures celebrate “birth rites” in different ways
Cultural stereotype
A widely held but oversimplified and unsubstantiated belief that all people of a certain racial or ethnic group are alike in certain respects.
Stereotypes are not always negative
Cultural archetype
An example of a person or thing–something that is recurrent–and it has its basis in facts; a symbol for remembering that is usually not negative
e.g. Mexican Americans having brown eyes or European Americans having light-colored skin.
6 culture specifics that influence health:
- Communication
- Space
- Time orientation
- Social organization
- Environmental Control
- Biological Variations
Communication
Verbal and nonverbal language
i.e spoken language, gestures, eye contact, and even silences
Space
Refers to a person’s personal space, or how the person relates toward the space around him.
Territoriality
The behavior and attitude that people exhibit about the area around them they have claimed.
Examples of attitudes towards personal space:
- Americans, Canadians of Northern European ancestry, and the British keep at least 18 in. of space b/t them and the person that they’re talking to
- Arabs and others from the Middle East typically stand quite close when talking
- Germans usually require a great deal of space, and consider looking into a room an invasion of privacy
Time orientation
Some persons tend to be present- or future-oriented, whereas others are more rooted in the past
e.g. clients who are present-oriented tend to show up late (or not at all) for appointments; written or telephone reminders should be provided
Social Organization
Includes the family unit (e.g., nuclear, single-parent, or extended family) and the wider organizations (e.g., community, religious, ethnic) with which the individual or family identifies.
e.g. in Middle Eastern and Latino cultures, the man is likely to be the dominant family member and the woman the homemaker.
