Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Ethnicity (Essay Sample)

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Ethnicity
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Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks its tissue. It can affect the kidneys, joints, skin, brain and other organs (Croker & Kimberly, 2005). Ethnicity is the active expression of culture. Ethnicity has been shown to have a significant effect on both disease susceptibility and disease expression (Risch, 2006). The influence of cultural factors has a great impact on the health assessment and physical examination. Different cultures have unique ways of expressing signs and symptoms of a disease. Understanding cultural influences by health care workers can have a positive impact on the assessment and physical examination of patients with SLE.
People in a particular ethnic group tend to display some related genetic characteristics. These people also have cultural, social and sociodemographic features that are shared by the individuals in that group (Cooper & Kaufman, 2003). These nongenetic factors unique to a specific ethnic group have been shown to have a significant influence in chronic diseases such as SLE. For instance, individuals from the minority groups, mostly have lower socioeconomic status, lower education levels, and lower salaries when compared to those from dominant social groups (Croker & Kimberly, 2005). Consequently, these features are often associated with unhealthy habits. These habits include drug abuse, smoking, inadequate health education, lack of health care, limited access to health care and less adherence to treatments (Croker & Kimberly, 2005). These features can have a significant effect on the development and outcome of diseases like SLE.
Specific cultural characteristics, social support, belief and family structure are additional features shared by ethnic groups. These features can result in different behavior and attitude in which people deal with disease and health (Croker & Kimberly, 2005). For example, Hispanic origin osteoarthritis patients residing in the USA are reluctant to undergo joint arthroplasty in comparison to other ethnic patients of the same socioeconomic status (Croker & Kimberly, 2005). The observed discrepancy is mainly due to the different ways of coping with the outcome of these procedures among these patients (Cooper & Kaufman, 2003). This observation demonstrates that knowledge about cultural influence can have a positive effect on health assessment and physical examination of a patient.
The categorization of the population into different ethnic group is crucial in epidemiological and clinical research despite these considerations about the cultural influence on diseases (Risch, 2006). Categorization helps in the formulation and examination of exploratory factors that aid in pointing out the specific ethnic related factors that bring disparities in a particular disease. Historically, it has been difficult to determine the influence of nongenetic factors in diseases with complex genetic influences like SLE (Cooper & Kaufman, 2003). However, previous studies about genetic predisposition to SLE have shown that there is a global association between ethnicity and SLE. Another admixture study showed that genetic had a significant role in the etiology of SLE than socioeconomic factors (Alarcon, 2001). So, while taking the history of patients, it’s important to know their ethnicity.
Demonstrating respect, especially to older patients is a culturally acceptable way of creating a good rapport with them (Leininger & McFarland, 2006). Many patients from different ethnic backgrounds are more responsive to calmness and humility. Getting informed consent, the use of informal conversation prior to formal assessment and acknowledging the importance of ethnic...