Cross-Cultural Healthcare (Essay Sample)

Cross-Cultural Healthcare
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Cross-Cultural Healthcare
The video clip has featured an interaction between a healthcare practitioner and a Chinese patient (University of Michigan, n.d.). From the onset, it is clear that the interaction will be characterized by cultural impacts. However, there are some things that the healthcare professional did well. The goal was to curtail the capacity of the cultural differences in determining the quality of the interaction. During the first stage of the interaction, the healthcare professional ensures that there is proper introduction as well as clear elucidation of the health issue at hand. The professional proceeds to fashion an environment that is conducive for the patient to elaborate on their health issue. Moreover, the patient can also detail the steps previously undertaken to address the health issue.
The professional has ensured that she does not have any bias towards the approaches that have been adopted by the patient prior to seeking medical attention. To some extent, the healthcare professional has ensured that the patient has provided sufficient information regarding the culturally supported remedies that were used. A critical element is the need to ensure that the patient feels that his/her views have been accepted by the healthcare professional. Adopting a critical approach will tend to negatively impact on the overall quality of the interaction between the healthcare professional and the patient.
The healthcare professional has also sought to ensure that she has accommodated the health beliefs of the patient’s culture. Such a capability is especially critical in fostering a relationship of trust with the patient. In accommodating the patient’s beliefs, the stage has been set for the patient to accept the guidance of the healthcare professional as it pertains to the healthcare intervention that will be prescribed. Essentially, the healthcare professional has explored the cultural impact of the healthcare interventions that have been adopted by the patient. In this way, the healthcare professional can be able to structure the argument for the need for the western healthcare intervention by using the tenets of the patient’s culture. In assuring patient acceptance, the health professional has positioned herself such that she appears to empathize with the patient. Moreover, she has offered her support to the patient. The culminating result is the creation of a quality and effective alliance between the patient and the healthcare professional.
Cultural beliefs, values and traditions have the capacity to significantly impact health education efforts. In educating people on the best healthcare approaches, there is need to remove any bias that might impact the comprehension of the health principle being taught. In a bid to mitigate the potential for collision between the current understanding and the understanding being taught, there is need to ensure that a quality and effective approach is employed. A critical approach should not be adopted. As has been witnessed in the second video clip featuring a bad interaction between a patient and a healthcare professional, adopting a critical approach tends to breed mistrust in the interaction (University of Michigan, n.d.). The individual being taught will tend to have a negative view of the new information being provided.
The approach to be employed ought to be focused on accommodating the currently held knowledge with the new knowledge being taught. In the video clip featuring a quality interaction between a patient and a healthcare professional, the professional has strived to ensure that the traditional understanding held by the patient has been featured in the healthcare intervention that will be adopted. It is then apparent that traditions, values and cultural beliefs have a significant impact on the health education efforts. In order to amplify the potential success of the education efforts, the avenues used have to be advised by the need to accommodate the patient’s culture in the proposed healthcare intervention.
From the two videos that have been featured herein, it is apparent that culture has a significant bearing on the effectiveness of the health education efforts. It can then be postulated that healthcare professionals have to be aware of a patient’s cultural understanding regarding the best approach to employ when treating a certain healthcare condition. In this way, the healthcare professional will be able to reduce the potential for a patient’s lack of acceptance of the proposed healthcare interventi...