Module #4
Cultural Diversity
Module #4 focuses on cultural diversity and the appreciation that society includes various groups with different interests, skills, talents, and needs. Learning about other cultures helps us understand different perspectives in the world we live in. It also dispels negative stereotypes and biases about different groups.
Cultural diversity teaches us to recognize and respect ways of living that may differ from our own.
Read carefully because at the end of this module is a quiz. There are 10 questions in total and 5 minutes to complete. 7 questions (70%) must be answered correctly. Your results will be forwarded to admin. You have 8 chances to pass this module.
In-Service Exams provided by Essential In-Services for Home Health, 2021
Upon completion this module, you should be able to:
Define cultural diversity
Avoid stereotyping
Communicate with patients of different cultures respectfully and effectively.
Defining Cultural Diversity
Culture is a social pattern of behaviors, beliefs, and characteristics of a group of people that are passed on from generation to generation. It is very important to understand that cultural characteristics are very different from physical characteristics. Many people who have similar physical characteristics do not always have similar cultural characteristics.
Cultural diversity is the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region or in the world as a whole. There are also more obvious cultural differences that exist between people, such as language, dress and traditions.
Religious Culture
In addition to cultures passed on from different geographic areas, there are many general religious cultural beliefs you may find among your patients. Keep in mind that not all members of a particular religious group will hold the same beliefs. These are generally held beliefs and may not be those of each and every member.
Baptist
Almost all Baptist groups prohibit alcohol as a beverage. Many groups strongly believe in faith healing or “laying on of hands” by preachers or others empowered by God to heal. Many believe that when medical treatment cures them, it is because God is functioning through the doctors and nurses. They may refuse ventilators or resuscitation, believing it interferes with God’s will. Mission work is very much part of most Baptist churches because many of them believe that only Christians will go to heaven.
Islam
People who practice Islam are referred to often as Muslims or Nation of Islam. Muslims do not eat pork and pork products and generally do not use alcohol. During Ramadan (the last month of the Mohammedan year), they do not eat during daylight hours. They accept standard medical care and generally oppose faith healing. Muslims perform prayers five times daily. There is usually ritual washing before prayers. There are several different sects of Islam, and each is somewhat different.
Roman Catholic
The Catholic church is the largest Christian church worldwide. The authority over all Roman Catholics is the Pope. Catholics fast during Lent, 46 days prior to Easter, by not eating meat on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent or on any Friday until Easter. Some Catholics still follow the old practice of no meat on any Friday of the year.
The church does not approve of contraceptives, abortion or fertility treatments. Two rituals Catholics practice include communion and anointing of the sick. Communion is a sacred practice in which wine and bread is taken by the patient along with prayer.
Anointing of the sick is a prayer performed by a priest or lay person as a spiritual healing. Most people request anointing of the sick during major illness. Home care patients may refuse to eat or drink for an hour before someone is bringing them communion.
Judaism
Dietary habits depend upon whether members of this faith are Orthodox, Reformed or Conservative, The most common dietary habit for most Jews is the avoidance of pork. Some Jewish people keep kosher, which means only eating only meat that comes from animals that eat vegetables, have cloven hooves or chew their cud. Meat must be slaughtered in a specific way to make it kosher. Some Jewish people do not eat seafood unless it has scales and fins (no shellfish).
Jews who strictly observe kosher laws don’t eat or store meat and dairy products together. Since kosher meats are often brined and therefore high in sodium, patients on low salt diets do not have to use kosher meats. Jewish people may have two sets of dishes, utensils and cooking equipment-one tor meat and one for dairy.
During Passover, many Jewish people don’t cat leavened bread (bread containing yeast or other ingredients to cause it to ferment and rise),. Some Jews may refuse surgery during the Sabbath. Members of the Jewish faith generally oppose prolonging life after life support. Many Jews will not withhold food or fluid for patients who can no longer swallow. They will request feeding tubes, intravenous fluids or continue to offer fluids even when the patient can not swallow.
There is no single Jewish authority over all Jewish synagogues. All congregations are independent and control their own activities. The Sabbath is observed by many Jews in different ways. It’s a day of rest and worship. Like all Jewish holidays, it begins and ends at sundown. The Jewish Sabbath begins on Friday at sundown and lasts until sundown on Saturday. During this time, some Jews do not use cars, do not cook or do work of any kind.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
People who practice at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are commonly referred to as Mormons. While meat is not forbidden, members are encouraged to eat meat “infrequently.” They generally do not drink tea, coffee or alcohol. Most will fast for 24 hours on the first Sunday of the month. They are strong believers in divine healing with anointing and “laying on of hands” by church elders but do not prohibit standard medical care.
Special “garments” or underwear are worn by Mormons as a symbolic gesture of promises that they have made to God. They begin wearing the garment during their first visit to temple. The garment is made of a top and bottom piece and is worn both during the day and night. Never remove these undergarments without discussing the process with the patient or family. The church headquarters is in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Geographic Culture
Some culture originates from the area of the world that the person is from. This is called geographic culture. There are many geographic cultures that greatly influence a patient’s views on diet and medical care.
The following are some types of geographic cultures. They are listed here to give you a better idea of the variety within these cultures and not to provide specific
information about an individual patient or family.
Keep in mind that these are very general and will not apply to all patients.
Eastern Asian and Pacific Islanders
Eastern Asian and Pacific Islanders contain many different ethnic groups. These groups include but are not limited to, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Hmong, Indonesian, Filipino and Samoan people.
Dietary habits are varied, based on the culture, and there are often special diets to be taken into consideration during illness. Fish, fruits, vegetables, and rice are the primary diet, along with small amounts of chicken, pork or beef. In most of these cultures, a meal is almost like a ceremony and should not be interrupted.
There are several religions practiced, including Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Shintoism (Japan), and Roman Catholic. Medicinal herbs and folk remedies and rituals are commonly used to prevent or treat illness.
Most believe that good health is a result of harmony and may use health healers and spiritual healers before seeking standard medical care. The drawing of blood is especially upsetting to many.
There is a tendency to hide outward signs of pain, so it may be difficult to determine how much pain a patient is having. Many believe in some type of reincarnation.
Haitian, Puerto Rican, Cuban
Generally, diet is very important for maintaining good health for people of Haitian, Puerto Rican or Cuban culture. Many believe foods have “hot/cold” properties and they must be in harmony. Some believe illness is supernatural and caused by evil spirits or enemies of deceased relatives.
They may wear amulets to protect against evil spirits. Most consult folk healers or spiritualists before seeking standard medical care. Use of herbs and rituals for healing is common.
Many are suspicious and fearful of hospitals. Cuban-Americans are most likely to use the standard medical practices in combination with religious or home remedies.
Stereotypes
All information in this lesson reflects general beliefs of many geographic and religious cultures. That said, it is important to understand that not every person, even if that person is of a particular culture, practices that way. For example, someone may be Roman Catholic but not go to church or take communion. Someone from Puerto Rico may not eat the types of food from his or her region. Every person is different.
We must be careful to never stereotype people based on physical features. Just because someone is from the Middle East does not mean that person is Muslim. Just because someone is Mormon does not mean that person never drinks alcohol. There are many stereotypes in the world, and they are often reflected on TV, the internet and more. It is important to never assume. Always make sure you listen and communicate with the patient so that you understand what cultural beliefs he or she holds.
Patients from different cultures will communicate in different ways. It is hard to know what is appropriate tor patients of different cultural backgrounds. Observation between family members and nonverbal reactions to communication can be clues to aid you. Always address a person from a different culture by his or her formal name. In some cultures, direct eye contact may be considered disrespectful and communicating with eyes downcast is a sign of respect. 
Be aware of personal body space. Some cultures may see a close body space as threatening, while others may maintain a close body space. Cultures vary with regard to comfort with physical contact, particularly if it involves someone of the opposite sex.
When providing personal care for someone from a different culture, ask permission to touch or uncover areas of the body and expose only one area at a time. It is so important for home health staff to listen to their patients. Many patients may not share their culture with you right away. But if they do, it is important to listen and retain that knowledge. An important part of effective communication is Seven Skills of Active Listening .
Distracted by our personal lives and work responsibilities can interfere with our ability to be active listeners. Active listening doesn’t always come easy. It is a technique that takes practice and a dedicated effort to maintain. But once you learn how to become an active listener, there is so much more information that can be gained from patients or caregivers, and there is much more that we can do for them. Tools used in active listening are not complicated. They just take consistent use to become second nature.
The following are guidelines to use in active listening:
The Role of Home Health
A person’s culture is an integral part of that person. As someone who cares for people in their homes, you may witness different cultures you have never encountered before. Your role may include:
Respecting your patient’s beliefs. You may not always agree with a patient’s values or lifestyle, but you must respect his or her beliefs, lifestyle choices, culture, attitudes, and other preferences. You must not be judgmental, and you must honor the patient’s choices.
Observing, reporting and documenting. Keen observation skills are important for anyone who works with patients in health care. Observation can be important to notice cultural practices. Patients may not always be open to communicate with you about their beliefs and rituals. But by observing patients, you may be able to understand them better. Sometimes patients will expect you to understand without communicating with you at all.
Although this is unrealistic, you can get a head start to understanding by observing the patient. Report anything out of the ordinary to your supervisor. Do this even if you don’t think it’s important. Document anything that can improve care (types of food a patient doesn’t eat, prayer schedule, etc.), as this is important information.
Home health employees first need to respect this patient’s choice to not discuss religious practices. Since
the patient doesn’t communicate, you must observe the patient and base care on the observations. An example of when cultural diversity may need to be observed, documented and reported is as follows:
A patient always prays at certain times during the day. Although he has not mentioned his prayers to the home health staff, he gets upset if he is busy during his prayer times. Once he even tried to get out of the bath in the middle of bathing to prepare to pray. The home health staff member tries to talk to the patient about it, but he does not want to talk about his religion. There is a slight communication gap because of a language barrier.
By observing the times that the patient prays, the home health staff can document and let the clinician know when the patient prefers to be visited and cared for. If there is a routine in the patient’s prayer schedule, make sure you document it. This information can make it easier for you to schedule care and also make the patient happier.
Here are seven skills of active listening:
Tri-County Home Care of Florida is a Medicare-certified home care agency serving the following counties:
Module #1 - Bloodborne Pathogens
Module #2 - Communications
Module #3 - COVID 19 Guidelines
Module #4 - Cultural Diversity
Module #5 - Dementia & Alzheimers
Module #6 - Depression & Anxiety
Module #7 - Elder Abuse & Neglect
Module #8 - Ethics
Module #9 - Hand Hygiene
Module #10 - HIPAA
Module #11 - Incontinence & Constipation
Module #12 - Infection Control
Module #13 - LGBTQ+ Patients
Module #14 - Lifting & Transferring Patients
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