|
Cultural responsiveness in health refers to being aware
of cultural differences among diverse racial, ethnic, and other minority groups,
respecting those differences, and taking steps to apply knowledge of cultural differences
to professional practice. The United States is an increasingly culturally and
linguistically diverse nation, and disparities in health care access, health outcomes, and
health status are major issues. more ...
Publications
 The
Value of Plants Used in Traditional Medicine for Drug Discovery
The
American Journal of Chinese Medicine (AJCM)
Introduction to
Ethnomedicine
Medicines that Change the
World
Web Sites
Ethnobotany
Organizations
American Anthropology
Association
CultureMed
American Botanical
Council
EthnoMed
University of Hawai'i
at Manoa Department of Anthropology
International Centre
for Ethnomedicine and Drug Development
Medical
Anthropology: Cross Cultural Studies in Health and Illness
Society
for Ethnomedicine
(back to the top)
Publications
Cardiovascular
Risk in the Filipino Community: Formative Research from Dale City and San Francisco,
California
Cardiovascular
Risk in the Vietnamese Community: Formative Research from Houston, Texas
Basic
Concepts of Transcultural Nursing
Medical
Index: Multicultural Health And Nursing
Nursing Resources
Transcultural
Nursing-A Selected Bibliography
What is Transcultural Nursing?
Organizations
Transcultural
and Multicultural Health Links
Transcultural
Nursing and Healthcare Association Homepage
Transcultural
Nursing Resources
Transcultural
Nursing: Basic Concepts and Case Studies
(back to the top)
... continued from top
Healthy People 2010, the United States' agenda for disease prevention
and health promotion, has two overarching national goals: to increase quality and
years of healthy life and to eliminate health disparities.
Health disparities addressed in Healthy People 2010 include those that occur by gender,
race or ethnicity, education or income, disability, geographic location, or sexual
orientation. Cultural responsiveness by health professionals is essential to the
achievement of these goals. Being culturally responsive in the practice of medicine or
other health professions means first becoming culturally competent-understanding
and appreciating cultural differences and their effects on patient health and behavior.
Achieving cultural responsiveness in health care means applying cultural competency
knowledge and skills to provide health care services that meet the needs of people from
other cultures.
According to the National Center for Cultural Competence,
there are many reasons for cultural competence in health care at the patient-provider
level. For example:
The perception of illness and disease and their causes
varies by culture.
Diverse belief systems exist related to health,
healing and wellness.
Culture influences help-seeking behaviors and
attitudes toward health care providers.
Individual preferences affect traditional and
non-traditional approaches to health care.
Patients must overcome personal experiences of biases
within health care systems.
Health care providers from culturally and
linguistically diverse groups are under-represented in the current service delivery
system.
Culturally responsive actions may involve, for example,
finding ways to overcome language or other barriers to communication, or assessing the
impact of certain religious or cultural beliefs and values on an individual's health
behavior and needs. The result of cultural responsiveness is better communication with
patients, families, and groups from diverse cultures, improved health outcomes, and
greater patient satisfaction with care.
Ethnomedicine refers to the
traditional healing practices of different cultures.
Medical anthropology is the study of
different cultures' approaches to health and illness, including health beliefs and the use
of traditional healing practices.
Cross-cultural or transcultural health
is another way of referring to providing culturally competent and responsive health care
and other health-related services to people of different cultures.
Cultural responsiveness in women's health
means addressing differences in health status, risks, and needs of women of different
racial, ethnic, educational, and economic backgrounds. It means assuring that women who
are members of minority groups have access to culturally appropriate health information
and services.
A number of United States Federal Government offices and
agencies are playing major roles in focusing attention on health disparities affecting
women. These agencies promote cultural competence and responsiveness in women's health in
the United States.
The Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women's Health (OWH) has created a Minority
Women's Health Panel of Experts representing the African-American, American Indian/Alaska
Native, Asian American and Pacific Islanders, and Latino communities. This panel serves as
a resource for the OWH for the development of strategies that address diversity in health
needs and inconsistencies in health care delivery for women across our country, as well as
ensuring that the minority concerns are addressed in OWH programs and initiatives.
The National Institutes of Health's Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) serves
as a focal point for women's health research at the NIH, promoting, stimulating, and
supporting efforts to improve the health of women through biomedical and behavioral
research. ORWH works in partnership with the NIH institutes and centers to ensure that
women's health research is part of the scientific framework at NIH and throughout the
scientific community.
The Maternal and
Child Health Bureau, part of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA),
Department of Health and Human Services, includes an emphasis on cultural competency as an
integral component of health service delivery.
The Office
of Minority and Women's Health of the Bureau of Primary Health Care, is also part of
HRSA. The mission of the Minority and Women's Health program is to promote activities that
reduce disparities in the health status of women, racial and ethnic populations and
stimulate collaborative partnerships to ensure coordinated health care that responds to
unique cultural and linguistic needs.
The HRSA
Office of Women's Health coordinates women's activities across more than 80 HRSA
programs. This cross-cutting and unifying role strengthens our programmatic focus to
eliminate gender-based disparities, and ensure that all women, regardless of age, sexual
orientation, race/ethnicity, rural or urban geographic location, functional status, or
socioeconomic, housing, and immigration status receive comprehensive, culturally
competent, quality health care.
Many other Federal and non-governmental agencies are
working to promote cultural responsiveness in health services for all people.
(back to the top) |
