Cultural Competency Paper

Cultural Competency Paper

Health is an important aspect of every person on a day-to-day basis. Our mental, spiritual, and physical health dictates what we will or will not do throughout our lives. Without a focus on our well-being, it would be hard to thrive. Not only does culture affect our spiritual health, but it will also affect how each person looks at their physical health and healthcare in general. Throughout this paper, you will get to know more about how healthcare is viewed in Vietnam and how the people in Vietnam live. Vietnam is a country in Southeast Asia.

Background

Vietnam is a country that has a very different countrywide language and religion from most in America. 90% of Vietnamese citizens are Buddhist. One Buddhist belief is that we come from nothing and will return to nothing and that suffering comes from the ego. This, in turn, affects how they view health, death, and dying. The belief that suffering in the present decreases suffering in the next life may prevent Vietnamese from health-seeking remedies or preventive care. (Gordon et al., 2006) Similar to many cultures in Asia, the Vietnamese believe in the hot and cold theory as well. In the hot-cold concept of humoral medicine, health is believed to be a balance between hot and cold elements in the body. (Weller, 1983) Vietnamese people eat fairly well due to most of their diet being vegetarian, so that also helps with healthcare and issues such as hypertension and diabetes.

Overview

Prevalent healthcare beliefs in Vietnam include many beliefs that are held by Buddhist teaching. Like many Asian cultures, the Vietnamese put a great deal of focus on family systems rather than individuality. Individuals in a family system will do what is best for the entire family rather than for just themselves and make decisions as a whole unit rather than in their own separate family systems. Vietnamese culture affects their health in many ways. When making healthcare decisions, the entire family is involved in decisions.

The religious beliefs of the country also affect healthcare. Suffering in this life makes for a better afterlife which prevents people from coming forward when they are in pain. In comparison to the healthcare beliefs of this culture, I tend to err on the side of science always. I usually trust my primary care provider but try to make holistic decisions for my health. If I am feeling ill because I ate badly that day and didn’t move my body, I will change that habit rather than take medication to fix my ailments.

When taking care of individuals of this culture, be mindful of your tone and volume because being loud and direct may be seen as rude. Try to speak softly and calmly and give great education on preventative measures. Be mindful that many family members may be involved in the healthcare of one of their relatives. Being Buddhist may affect how much pain they report, so be on the lookout for verbal cues that could indicate pain.

Vietnam is at a crossroads in health with unprecedented achievements, in health, yet the challenges that come along with rapid growth and development are enormous and act as a barrier to the sustainability of the achieved progress. (WHO, 2015) While Vietnam is progressing, it is still considered a developing country with high wait times and low staffing in healthcare environments. Vietnam also has universal healthcare, so the cost of American healthcare could be a barrier for a low-income family, just as some Americans face. Vietnamese individuals communicate with their healthcare providers similarly to how we do, so this doesn’t affect their healthcare as much because most Vietnamese physicians speak the language.

Madeline Leininger’s theory of culture of care happens when the nurse and the client creatively design a new or different care lifestyle for the health or well-being of the client. Together. (Miller, 2021) We will work with individuals of different cultures, such as Vietnamese, to incorporate their own beliefs in their healthcare. A patient is more likely to stick to a regimen if they believe it will help them and respects their opinions on what healthcare should be. We should always strive to collaborate with our patients to create a better outcome for their health.

American culture, compared to Vietnamese culture, is loud and obnoxious, in my opinion. We are quick to be opinionated instead of listening and are selfish individuals as a society. We speak English as a majority but have many Spanish-speaking individuals in our society as well. The way we communicate with our healthcare providers may be far more entitled than many other cultures. We pay exuberant amounts of money as a society for our healthcare, which may be a factor involved in the entitlement. I do believe that as a wealthy society, we should have access to quality care and be able to afford well-being. One thing Vietnam is doing right in comparison is universal health care, but they lack the providers to do it as efficiently as America could. It is possible, and I pray that in the future, everyone will have access to a healthy life.

Conclusion

In sum, Vietnamese culture is soft-spoken, and they highly value healthcare and the people who provide it. Building a healthcare plan with the patient that reflects their beliefs will aid in compliance. Be sure to be mindful that addressing elders is a big deal, so always be respectful. Always be mindful of a person’s culture when assisting them with their health. You will always have a better outcome if you keep the people you help in mind and focus on patient-centered care always.

References

 Gordon, S., Bernadett, M., Evans, D., Bernadett-Shapiro, N., & Dang, L. (2006). Vietnamese Culture: Influences and Implications for Health Care. Molina Healthcare. https://www.molinahealthcare.com/~/media/Molina/PublicWebsite/PDF/providers/nm/m Medicaid/resource/health_nm_vietnameseculture- influencesandimplicationsforhealthcare_materialandtest.pdf

Weller, S. (1983). New Data on Intracultural Variability: The Hot-Cold Concept of Medicine and Illness. Human Organization, 42(3), 249–257. https://doi.org/10.17730/humo.42.3.v485x5npq050g748

World Health Organization. (2015). Country Cooperation Strategy, At A Glance (WHO/CCU/15.03/Vietnam).

Miller, S. (2021, March 15). Madeleine Leininger: Founder of Culture Care Theory. The Sentinel Watch. https://www.americansentinel.edu/blog/2020/10/08/madeleine-leininger- founder-of-culture-care-theory/

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This discussion will explore two components of appropriate health care for pediatric patients: health policy and cultural competence.

To create your initial post to this discussion forum, complete the following steps.

Step 1: Choose ONE of the following prompts to discuss:

Imagine that you are a nurse lobbyist at the legislature in your state, with a specific focus on child and teen health. The children in this state encompass a broad range of social determinants of health. You are asked to recommend state-wide health policies to improve the health of this population, along with corresponding engagement strategies to reach nurses in the state.

What would be the first pediatric policy that you would recommend? Please provide a rationale for your selection.

How can you effectively reach nurses to encourage their action to promote the policy?

What are one or more reasons why many nurses do not engage in lobbying efforts?

Describe a pediatric patient and/or their family members that you have cared for who is deemed by healthcare professionals to be ‘difficult.’

To what extent do you think that cultural factors, e.g. beliefs, values, and customs common to a group, might have been implicated in this situation?

Pediatric patients?

List at least one strategy that a nurse can employ to overcome barrier(s) to cultural competence with pediatric patients.

Step 2: Post your answer to your chosen prompt to the discussion forum.

In addition to your original post, be sure to provide a meaningful response to at least two of your peers’ posts by Friday night at 11:59 pm Mountain Time.  Read other students’ initial postings and respond to at least two other students.  Expand on their comments to progress the discussion.

Your initial post should be 2-3 paragraphs long and follow the requirements outlined in the discussion rubric. Please add to the discussion in your peer responses with informative responses instead of posts similar to “great idea! I really agree with you.”   The initial post and the peer responses have different deadlines. Make sure that your discussion adheres to these deadlines.

APA guidelines and plagiarism prevention matter in discussion posts, just like with other scholarly assignments. Cite all references appropriately using APA format.