Diversity Encompasses Many Things
Among different religious, socioeconomic, racial, and cultural groups there
are varied beliefs about health care. The power of healers, prayer, specific
foods, and folk medicine are all-important in the lives of many individuals.
Communication and the development of a care plan can be difficult when
patients feel they have an illness that is not defined within the biomedical paradigm.
If health care providers do not recognize these values and/or beliefs, any
care plan they devise will probably not be effective for the patient. The same
problem can occur if the patient does not recognize the values and beliefs of
the health care providers. Effective communication is maximized when each
shares their beliefs about the sickness.
Culturally sensitive health care is care that is sensitive to intragroup
variations in beliefs and behaviors and avoids labeling and stereotyping. Many of the ideas presented can be helpful in increasing effective
patient-health care provider , including cultural blocks. Agreeing with each other’s beliefs is not the goal; mutual respect and acknowledgment is needed to
develop a care plan that will truly benefit the patient.