About This Topic

Rapidly changing demographics in the United States make it more likely that health care providers will be working with families whose beliefs and practices differ significantly from their own. This increasing diversity will challenge health care providers to deliver culturally competent services to each child and family.

Each person's culture is unique and influences his or her interactions with other people. Although each of us may identify closely with one particular ethnic heritage, we are also members of multiple subcultures.

Any interaction or exchange between two people is really an interaction between two cultures. Each person's unique cultural heritage influences his or her view of others. Beliefs about health and illness are an integral part of one’s cultural background and may be extremely different from one culture to another. As health care providers, we need to recognize that each family's unique cultural heritage influences their concept of health and illness.  Cultural heritage also influences  their expectations of  and trust  in the medical and social systems of care.

It is important to assess the degree of acculturation when working with people of diverse populations. We are not able to determine to what degree a person has assimilated the dominant culture until we have interacted with him/her in a respectful manner.

Health care providers trained and working in traditional American settings may not be aware of the different personal beliefs and health care practices of the people they serve. The ability to recognize and work with different cultural perspectives is crucial for health care providers in the 21st century.

What You Will Learn

• An increased awareness of your own biases and attitudes that affect how you provide care
• How your biases and attitudes are shaped by personal history, and how that will impact the care you provide.
• Cultural competence on a personal level.

To Get the Most From This Lesson...

• Proceed through the side bar items from top to bottom. Go through the course by using the side bar links. Take the quiz last.
• Be aware of your personal background and biases.