Another Ethnicity

The United States is known as a melting pot, with a little bit of every ethnicity mixing together to create a diverse population. Culture shapes the perceptions, emotions, belief systems and behaviors in individuals. With the many different backgrounds, the health field must recognize the personalized needs each ethnicity. A few factors that vary between ethnic groups include religious preferences, diets, pain management and other health practices.

One of the many ethnicities adding to the diversity of this country is the Jewish culture.

It’s important to understand Jewish people base their healthcare heavily on theology and history. Illness is a part of God’s plan, therefore any healthcare would be considered “meddling with God’s work and will” (My Jewish Learning, 2013) Beliefs have changed with the times, so in the modern day, Jewish people approve of life saving techniques but look down upon mind-altering drugs. Jewish culture has a law of keeping kosher, which is usually translated as keeping proper. There are certain foods that are forbidden, such as pork and shellfish. Meat and dairy cannot be combined, and all blood must be removed from meat before ingesting by ritually slaughtering and salting. This is important to healthcare when designing a diet for a patient. Understanding the term “kosher” is the first step to creating a healthy and nutritious diet for a Jewish person. In modern Judaism, it is believed that the innocent sometimes suffers to be rewarded in the world to come. This may explain the acceptance of pain in the culture and the vocalization of it. They have the need to share their pain and have it recognized and validated by the people surrounding them. This is important for a healthcare worker to recognize in order to comfort the patient through rough times.

Another ethnicity that is an important contributor to the United States is the Latino community. Catholicism is a major influence for Hispanics. Along with their faith, magicoreligious, or the use of candles and pictures of saints, is very common. Each saint represents a religious function, for example; St. Joseph is related to dying, Our Lady of Lourdes is related to bodily ills and so on. Certain Religious rights include baptizing infants and anointing of the sick, both utilized in life threatening situations. Using home remedies is a common occurrence in the Latino community. After using a home remedy, some Hispanics seek a curandero, or a spiritual healer. Only after seeking out help at home and with a spiritual healer will most people seek medical attention from a doctor. The diet of the Latino culture consists primarily of rice, beans, and tortillas. In the United States specifically, fast food is often common as well. It is common for Latino’s to tough out their pain. This can be due to the lack of health insurance or even the family dynamics. In relation to these health beliefs, the most common causes of illness and death in this specific community includes, heart disease, cancer, unintentional injuries, and diabetes.

The Asian community is very prevalent in the United States and the way they approach healthcare is unique. There are many faucets to Asian culture seeing as Asia has a large portion of the Earth’s population of people. The most known Asian medicine in the United States currently is referred to as TCM, or Traditional Chinese Medicine. This is a mixture of Eastern Asian beliefs as well as Western medicine. The Eastern approach to disease is that the body is while and each organ has a mental as well as physical role. Western beliefs say that disease is caused by an external force and disease is either mental or physical, but not both. TCM strongly bases their beliefs on the yin and yang of the world. The health strategy for this concept is to restore harmony or balance to a person’s life. A doctor might use acupuncture, herbs and food to recover the body. Herbal medicine is heavily depended on in this community. They can be used to regulate the natural balance of the body. Asian culture approaches most health issues with nutrition in mind. The thought process is that what goes into your body ultimately nourishes the energy and spirit of the body. So, they always include nutrition in the healing process. This is important for a nurse to know while treating an Asian patient because their nutritional needs may differ from a different culture. Acupuncture is only used commonly to pinpoint specific points on the energy channels of the body. This is said to promote healing and stimulate the flow of energy throughout the mind and body. Pain, nutrition and health are all looked at as being intertwined in the Asian culture. The concept of balance is the most important factor when approaching a patient with these needs.

It is important to view healthcare needs through many different cultural lenses. Numerous times, a nurse will draw from their own culture for understanding, and that puts the patient at a disadvantage for getting the best care possible. The ability to interpret and understand different cultures and ethnicities is pertinent to providing unparalleled service to those in need. Nurses come across people of all different backgrounds, especially in the melting pot that is the United States. Each patient should be treated accordingly in respect to their beliefs as well as their cultural background. Communication about all of these factors will guarantee that the patient’s needs are put first. 

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