CLAS Standards
United States demographics have seen rapid changes over the recent past. These changes have been attributed to the increasing rates of immigration that have seen many cultures make an entry into the US population. This increasing diversification comes with its fair share of communication troubles, evident by the linguistic barriers that exist between these cross cultures. The healthcare system, being at the center of all these alterations and with the constant need to offer quality services to all, experiences considerable difficulties in the handling of communications across these cultures. It is this need that has necessitated the need for a speech-language pathologist who will enhance such cross-cultural communication while maintaining quality care. This paper seeks to outline a health education program for Asian Americans as well as highlight the challenges that may be experienced during planning and implementation. Hire our assignment writing services in case your assignment is devastating you.
The design of a successful health education program for Asian Americans should take keen consideration of their social constructs, cultural beliefs, and behaviors, as well as their attitudes. The best approach to the design and execution of this program utilizes a step-wise approach that requires an initial examination of the already existing interventions as well as the determination of challenges and obstacles that are specific to Asian Americans (Gao et al., 2014). The process begins with the identification of the proximal objectives, selection of theory-based methods of interventions, program plan development, planning for adoption in implementation, and creation of evaluation plans as well as instrumentation.
Identification of the health education program objectives involves laying down the objectives of the health education program and the projection of the outcome of the program in terms of the impacts it will have on these populations. The process requires a team of experts to adopt the inclusion and exclusion criteria to gauge the expected changes as well as define the indices that point to a successful program. The selection of theory-based methods and strategies of intervention is then started upon identification of the objectives and the projected outcomes. The process entails the selection of theories that are aligned with the specific objectives so defined. For instance, in this scenario, methods are selected that are compatible with the cultural aspects of Asian Americans as well as their beliefs and attitudes. This step is critical as it directly defines the success of the program. The development of the program plan is the operationalization step. The workability of the objectives defined initially, as well as the theoretical model selected, is determined in this phase.
Planning for the adoption of an implementation then follows. This is the actualization phase where the education program is carried out. It entails drawing the already selected proportion of the selected Asian Americans via the inclusion and exclusion criteria and imparting them with the skills specified in the theoretical models selected. Upon conclusion of the implementation process, evaluation plans are created to determine the effectiveness of the program. The process entails a comprehensive analysis of the outcomes against the stated objectives. It also analyses the effectiveness of the study based on the projected indices of success.
The education programs seek to not only impart this target population with the necessary skills required for cultural sensitivity and communication but also to reinforce the positive perceptions, enablers, and nurtures while discouraging the negative ones. The positive aspects of the Asian American culture that contribute to good health are attributed to their utilization of traditional and alternative treatment modalities such as mind-body intervention. This has been shown to promote tranquility in these individuals with consequential effects on social well-being (Jang et al., 2017). Conversely, several practices among Asian Americans negatively impact health. Poor health-seeking behavior is rampant in this population, with a lower proportion seeking preventive measures for diseases, such as vaccinations and immunization. Additionally, there is a low approval rate for health services within this population, with many seeking not to express their views on the quality of healthcare and others expressing dissatisfaction with the services. These negative aspects impede quality healthcare delivery.
Cultural empowerment is also critical in the promotion of good health behavior. Asian Americans experience some levels of racial discrimination that predisposes them to mental disorders, thus harming their health. Measures that enable them to cope with other coexisting cultures, such as safe spaces that enable them to discuss their cultural identity, cultural minority stress, aggressions, and invalidation, enable them to resolve their identity conflicts, thus preventing any harmful effects that may have otherwise occurred (Hahm et al., 2020). On the other hand, some cultural empowerment aspects among these communities may have negative impacts on health. Asian Americans are empowered with strong family obligations centered around their cultural norms and values (Tung, 2017). This places undue pressure on individuals to have the ability to take care of their families to be considered valuable. If this is not achieved, as in mental illness, these individuals are viewed as invaluable. This results in stress that may give way to other harmful effects on health. Practices such as spirituality and religion, however, have been shown to improve their social well-being and should therefore be maintained. Social well-being is a significant determinant of good health.
In the planning and implementation of these programs, several challenges exist that may lower the efficiency of the program as well as derail it from its objectives. Such challenges include poor turnout of participants, unwillingness to share, and ineffective communication, among others:
For an effective and efficient training program to be implemented, the target audience should be present. The audience must be a true presentation of the target population and a true replica of the cultural and ethnic diversities evident in this population. If there is a low turnout or only one ethnic group turns out, the training program would not meet its objectives, and the program would not be considered a success. Additionally, the present audience may possess the due willingness to learn from the process. This is often the case in rigid individuals who are unwilling to change or who suffer from perception bias (Gao et al., 2014). The effect of this is an audience that is physically present but is not changed by the lessons learned from the program.
The presence of sub-stratification of cultures, ethnicities, and languages among Asian Americans makes it particularly difficult to communicate with them as a unit effectively. This training program may, therefore, require multiple speech-language pathologies to ensure that each represented group gets the message. This presents particular strains in cost and time and is highly susceptible to misinformation (Nápoles et al., 2015). However, this could be resolved by pre-analysis of these groups and the development of written brochures that are targeted to each group.
The presence of cultural diversification in the US demographics has presented significant challenges in communications and, ultimately, healthcare delivery. This has necessitated the need to educate these individual cultures on the need for cross-culture integration as well as health behaviors that are necessary for healthy living. The design and implementation of these educational programs should take into account the individual cultural demands, attitudes, and beliefs. The success of these practices is dependent on the participation of the individual members of these communities.
References
Gao, W., Ma, G., Tan, Y., Fang, C., Weaver, J., & Jin, M. et al. (2014). Culturally Appropriate Education Intervention on Biospecimen Research Participation among Chinese Americans. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, 23(3), 383-391. https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.epi-13-0742
Hahm, H., Liu, C., & Tompson, M. (2020). Cultural and Developmental Principles for Asian American Women’s Mental Health: Lessons From AWARE on College Campuses. Psychiatric Services, 71(11), 1199-1202. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201900593
Jang, A., Kang, D., & Kim, D. (2017). Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use and Its Association with Emotional Status and Quality of Life in Patients with a Solid Tumor: A Cross-Sectional Study. The Journal Of Alternative And Complementary Medicine, 23(5), 362-369. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2016.0289
Nápoles, A., Santoyo-Olsson, J., Karliner, L., Gregorich, S., & Pérez-Stable, E. (2015). Inaccurate Language Interpretation and Its Clinical Significance in the Medical Encounters of Spanish-speaking Latinos. Medical Care, 53(11), 940-947. https://doi.org/10.1097/mlr.0000000000000422
Tung, W. (2017). Cultural Barriers to Mental Health Services Among Asian Americans. Home Health Care Management & Practice, 23(4), 303-305. https://doi.org/10.1177/1084822311401857
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Question 
For this final segment of the SLP, review the article “Development of a Theory-Based (PEN-3 and Health Belief Model), Culturally Relevant Intervention on Cervical Cancer Prevention Among Latina Immigrants Using Intervention Mapping.” Consider this article and everything you have learned throughout the SLP, and write a paper that addresses the following:
CLAS Standards
Explain how you would approach a health education program for the cultural group you have written about for your SLP. Support your choices with scholarly references. You should be able to use the information you found in researching your previous SLP papers.
Would your program be for the person, extended family, or neighborhood?
What positive perceptions, enablers, and nurturers would you want to reinforce? What negative ones would you want to try to overcome?
What positive aspects of cultural empowerment would you want to reinforce? What negative ones would you want to try to overcome? What existential ones would you acknowledge but not try to change?
What challenges do you foresee in trying to plan and implement health education programs for this cultural group?