Cultural Diversity

Cultural Diversity

Introduction

Cultural diversity in the health sector is critical for the accommodation of all patients. While working with a large group of patients, cultural sensitivity comes in handy. However, this is also critical when working with special groups of patients, who still vary culturally. Patients deserve to receive wholesome care that is customized to their needs. Such care should take into account the cultural differences that exist even within a special population (Daher 2012). With a special focus on alcoholics, the discussion shall extrapolate the main issues that affect the care they receive from behavioral therapists.

Care for Alcoholics

Alcoholics tend to receive less culturally sensitive care due to a lack of time and undivided attention. Two, substance-dependent patients deserve customized treatment to suit their varying cultures. For instance, a patient who grew up in Japan may join a program to treat their dependence on alcohol. Such a program would require all patients to notify their family members. However, such a notification can lead to unexpected consequences, such as disowning by family members because they feel publicly shamed. A different patient on the same program may receive endless support from family members for acknowledging their issue and seeking treatment. Such a scenario highlights the cultural differences between two patients in the same population (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (US) 2014). It also shows that culturally insensitive requirements or policies may create a fear for seeking treatment initially. It is blatantly wrong and ignorant to use a ‘one size fits all’ strategy.

Social justice in healthcare dictates that all patients from different or similar populations receive high-quality care. High quality has a cultural aspect, which varies from one person to the other. From the example provided earlier, high quality to the Japanese patient would have included understanding the cultural aspects that could affect the results of the entire exercise. Healthcare providers are obliged to be culturally sensitive and listen to patients (Daher 2012). Such an approach should help them learn about the cultural misgivings and aspects that may be tolerated in one culture and frowned upon in another. Failure to demonstrate such cultural sensitivity compromises the achievement of social justice during the process of delivering care.

I suffer from addiction issues due to past substance abuse. I believe that African-American mental health patients tend to suffer significantly due to the various perceptions that are associated with the population. Mental health patients already experience immense stigma due to their health condition. When mental patients are African Americans, access to care is an issue. Most African-American patients with mental illnesses fail to seek care due to a lack of resources and stigma. The culturally-based likelihood to dismiss mental illness as stress occurs more than it should. The high likelihood for African Americans to be mistreated by fellow citizens increases their chances of avoiding care (McLean Hospital 2021). I understand the behavior of African-American mental health patients. Thus, I am more likely to seek an understanding of their cultural insecurities. This process is important because it allows healthcare professionals to understand their patients. It also avoids the provision of ‘one size fits all’ care. The desire to understand these patients and be culturally sensitive and appreciative eliminates the fear of being misunderstood, mistreated, or misjudged. In addition, my ability to offer such care increases the likelihood of achieving social justice.

Healthcare providers should be aware of their personal biases toward other cultures. Such cultural awareness enables all providers to have a positive impact on patients. The ability to control explicit biases creates an opportunity for an open mind. This opens up chances to communicate with patients and understand the cultural stereotypes or practices that may affect their well-being and health outcomes. Conscious bias can negatively affect not only the health outcomes but also the ethics that govern the delivery of care (Marcelin, Siraj, and Victor 2019). It also affects one’s attitudes towards specific patient populations.

To counter any sort of conscious biases, organizations should train providers on diverse, equal, inclusive, and culturally sensitive care. This process should be ongoing and repetitive to serve as a long-term solution. Organizations that are willing to invest in the training process protect patients and staff from conscious biases and promote positive outcomes, cultural sensitivity, diversity, inclusivity, and social justice (Marcelin, Siraj and Victor 2019).

Conclusion

Cultural sensitivity and diversity are critical to the delivery of care. Patient populations are completely diverse due to their different cultures. Healthcare providers are also diversified. Some of the aspects that affect culturally sensitive care include reduced healthcare workers, lack of sufficient time to offer undivided attention, and the presence of conscious and unconscious biases. This subjects patients to insensitivity, whether intentional or otherwise. It is important for healthcare providers to be aware of their biases and undergo training that promotes the delivery of culturally sensitive care.

References

Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (US). 2014. “Improving Cultural Competence.” Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series 59.

Daher, M. 2012. “Cultural beliefs and values in cancer patients.” Annals of Oncology 23 (3): 66-69.

Marcelin, Jasmine R., Dawd S. Siraj, and Robert Victor. 2019. “The Impact of Unconscious Bias in Healthcare: How to Recognize and Mitigate It.” The Journal of Infectious Diseases 220 (2): 62-73.

McLean Hospital. 2021. How Can We Break Mental Health Barriers in Communities of Color? https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/how-can-we-break-mental-health-barriers-communities-color.

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Select a special population for the focus of this assignment. Write a 750-1,000-word essay in which you describe how two individuals from the same special population may be culturally diverse from one another. For instance, two cancer survivors can be considered in the same special population because they are cancer survivors, though each individual may have different cultural identities.

Cultural Diversity

Include the following in your essay:

Explain how culturally diverse values and beliefs are relevant to how two individuals from the same special population might seek and interact with behavioral health services and how this differs from other populations.
How does social justice influence where and when these individuals receive behavioral health services?
Describe your own memberships to special populations. Include any biases you might have about other special populations. How might those biases influence you as a behavioral health paraprofessional?
How might awareness of your own or others’ biases help you better assist behavioral health clients?