Written for all health care providers, this text promotes awareness of the dimensions and complexities involved in caring for people from culturally diverse backgrounds. The author through discussions of her own experiences, shows how cultural heritage can affect delivery and acceptance of health care and how professionals, when interacting with their clients, need to be aware of these issues in order to deliver safe and professional care. Traditional and alternative health care beliefs and practices from Asian American, African American, Hispanic, and American Indian perspectives are represented.

The sixth edition of this well-respected book continues to promote an awareness of the dimensions and complexities involved in caring for people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Completely revised and updated, it includes the latest information on the health care delivery system in a new organizational format. It examines the differences existing within North America by probing the health care system and consumers, and examples of traditional health beliefs and practices among selected populations. An emphasis on the influences of recent social, political, and demographic changes helps to explore the issues and perceptions of health and illness today. FEATURES INCLUDE:

• Free Pocket Guide to Assessment and Health Tradition
• Free Companion Website with activities, fill-in-the-blanks, multiple choice questions, web links, and more.
• Online Course Management Systems. Also available are online companions for schools using course management systems. For more information about adopting an online course management system to accompany Cultural Diversity in Health and Illness, Sixth Edition please contact your Prentice Hall Health Sales Representative prenhall.com/mischtm/rep-locator-fr.html or go to the appropriate websites at cms.prenhall.com/webct/index.html or cms.prenhall.com/blackboard/index.html or cms.prenhall.com/coursecompass
• Health Traditions Imagery. This edition of the book uses symbolic images to create the linkages from chapter to chapter. The HEALTH (HEALTH, when written this way, is defined as the balance of the person, both within one's being-physical, mental, spiritual-and in theoutside world-natural, familial and communal, metaphysical) images were selected to awaken you to the richness of a given heritage and the HEALTH/health beliefs, and practices inherent within both modern and traditional cultures.
• Guidelines for Developing Cultural Competency. A "map" that passes from broad and general dimensions of health and illness to specific images of traditional HEALTH beliefs and practices; at the personal level, the modern health care delivery level, and within traditional dimensions.
• Three developmental dimensions:
• Cultural Foundations—an overview of cultural heritage and history that serves to illustrate the underlying concepts inherent in the diversity within our society, and basic elements of health and illness.
• Domains of HEALTH—the worlds of the provider and patient as reflected in broad and general HEALTH and HEALING from a personal perspective to the perspectives of socialization into the allopathic philosophy and health care delivery system.
• Panoramas of HEALTH—the worlds of traditional HEALTH beliefs and practices among selected populations.
• Historical Perspectives. An overview of historic sociocultural, public health, and health policy events and medical milestones from 1900 to 2003.

OVERVIEW Unit I focuses on the background knowledge one must recognize as the foundation for developing cultural competency.

• Chapter 1 explores the concept of cultural heritage and history and the roles they play in one's perception of health and illness. This exploration is first outlined in general terms: What is culture? How is it transmitted? What is ethnicity? What is religion? How do they affect a given person's health? What major sociocultural events occurred during the life trajectory of a given person that may influence their personal health beliefs and practices?
• Chapter 2 presents a discussion of the diversity—demographic, immigration, and poverty—that impacts on the delivery of and access to health care. The backgrounds of each of the U.S. Census Bureau's categories of the population, an overview of immigration, and an overview of issues relevant to poverty are presented.
• Chapter 3 reviews the provider's knowledge of his or her own perceptions, needs, and understanding of health and illness.

Unit II explores the domains of HEALTH, blends them with one's personal heritage, and contrasts them with allopathic philosophy.

• Chapter 4 introduces the concept of HEALTH and develops the concept in broad and general terms. The HEALTH Traditions Model is presented, as are natural methods of HEALTH restoration.
• Chapter 5 explores the concept of HEALING and the role that faith plays in the context of HEALING, or magico-religious, traditions. This is an increasingly important issue, which is evolving to a point where the health care provider must have some understanding of this phenomenon.
• Chapter 6 discusses family heritage and explores personal and familial HEALTH traditions. It includes an array of familial health beliefs and practices shared by people from many different heritages.
• Chapter 7 focuses on the allopathic health care delivery system and the health care provider culture.

Once the study of each of these components has been completed, Unit III moves on to explore selected population groups in more detail, to portray a panorama of traditional HEALTH and ILLNESS beliefs and practices, and present relevant health care issues. These pages can neither do full justice to the richness of any one culture nor any one health-belief system. By presenting some of the beliefs and practices and suggesting background reading, however, the book can begin to inform and sensitize the reader to the needs of a given group of people. It can also serve as a model as to how to develop cultural knowledge in populations that are not included. The Epilogue is devoted to an overall analysis of the book's contents and how best to apply this knowledge in health care delivery, health planning, and health education, for both the patient and the health care professional. There is so much to be learned. Countless books and articles have now appeared that address these problems and issues. It is not easy to alter attitudes and beliefs or stereotypes and prejudices. Some social psychologists state that it is almost impossible to lose all of one's prejudices, yet alterations can be made. I believe the health care provider must develop the ability to deliver CulturalCare and a sensitivity to personal fundamental values regarding health and illness. With acceptance of one's own values comes the framework and courage to accept the existence of differing values. This process of realization and acceptance can enable the health care provider to be instrumental in meeting the needs of the consumer in a collaborative, safe, and professional manner. The first edition of this book was the outcome of a promesa—a promise—once made. The promise was made to a group of Black and Hispanic students I taught in a medical sociology course in 1973. In this course, the students wound up being the teachers, and they taught me to see the world of health care delivery through the eyes of the health care consumer rather than through my own well-intentioned eyes. What I came to see I did not always like. I did not realize how much I did not know; I believed I knew a lot. I have held on to the promesa, and my experiences over the years have been incredible. I have met people and traveled. At all times I have held on to the idea and goal of attempting to help nurses and other providers be aware of and sensitive to the beliefs and needs of their patients. I know that looking inside closed doors carries with it a risk. I know that people prefer to think that our society is a melting pot and that old beliefs and practices have vanished with an expected assimilation into mainstream North American life. Many people, however, have continued to carry on the traditional customs and culture from their native lands, and health and illness beliefs are deeply entwined within the cultural and social beliefs that people have. To understand health and illness beliefs and practices, it is necessary to see each person in his or her unique sociocultural world. The shattering events of September 11, 2001, represent in many ways the clarion call for all of us to wake up and hear and listen to the voices of all people. Indeed, the events are symptomatic of Global Polarization in such conflicts as:

• Traditionalism vs. Modernism
• Fundamentalism vs. Universalism
• Heritage vs. Secular
• Minimalism vs. Excessism
• Self-Denialism vs. Materialism
• Fatalism vs. Determinism
• Allopathy vs. Homeopathy
• Curing vs. HEALING

Global Polarization is culturally based and seems to be the engine driving recent events. It is an attempt to look at the big picture that encompasses health care and attempts to find cultural meaning in daily life. In our world, that of health care delivery, it mandates that we must develop the knowledge and skills of CulturalCare. This book is written primarily for the student in basic allied health professional programs, nursing, medical, social work, and other health care provider disciplines. I believe it will be helpful also for providers in all areas of practice, especially community health, long-term oncology, chronic care settings, and geriatric and hospice centers. I am attempting to write in a direct manner and to use language that is understandable by all. The material is sensitive, yet I believe that it is presented in a sensitive manner. At no point is my intent to create a vehicle for stereotyping. I know that one person will read this book and nod "Yes, this is how I see it," and someone else of the same background will say "No, this is not correct." This is the way it is meant to be. It is incomplete by intent. It is written in the spirit of open inquiry, so that an issue may be raised and so that clarification of any given point will be sought from the patient as health care is provided. The deeper I travel into this world of cultural diversity, the more I wonder at the variety. It is wonderfully exciting. By gaining insight into the traditional attitudes that people have toward health and health care, I find my own nursing practice is enhanced, and I am better able to understand the needs of patients and their families. It is thrilling to be able to meet, to know, and to provide care to people from all over the world. It is the excitement of nursing. As we now go forward in time, I hope that these words will help you, the reader, develop CulturalCare skills and help you to provide the best care to all.

Tags: cultural diversity health illness