The Influence of Cultural Practices on Health-A Clinical Perspective
Cultural practices refer to behaviors, beliefs, rituals, traditions, customs, and norms that are practiced by a particular population. These aspects of culture are passed from one generation to another, hence forming individual and collective identities of a community. Cultural practices influence various aspects of patient care, health behaviors, treatment adherence, communication patterns, dietary practices, decision-making processes, and healthcare-seeking behaviors, consequently leading to an overall impact on health (Nielsen-Bohlman et al., 2019). However, it is important to understand and respect cultural practices to provide patient-centered care that is also sensitive to the unique needs of different populations.
Examples of cultural practices that pose a great impact on health include dietary preferences and restrictions such as limitations to take animal products like milk and meat. Another example is religious-spiritual beliefs concerning illness and healing, such as blood transfusion. Third, the attitude towards healthcare providers and treatment modalities may also impact care—for example, some cultural practices deter a younger person from touching an elder. Culturally assigned gender roles also affect health, where some of these culturally imposed roles on gender may affect the health of that gender. Lastly, mental health is highly affected by some cultural beliefs that attribute mental illness to other aspects of culture (Nielsen-Bohlman et al., 2019).
Real-World Clinical Example
For this assignment, I will focus on cultural practices that impact the management of diabetes, whose prognosis is greatly impacted by an individual’s lifestyle. A patient who is of a South Asian background presents with uncontrolled diabetes. A review of the history of the presenting illness reveals that the patient has been subjected to the best management of the disease. However, the patient prognosis is poor and does not correspond to the expected outcomes of such a management. The management includes comprehensive patient education about healthy eating, regular physical activity, insulin therapy, blood sugar monitoring, stress management, regular medical check-ups, and healthy weight management (Aloke et al., 2022). Having considered all these factors, a further assessment needed to be done, which revealed that the patient strictly adhered to traditional dietary practices that included consuming high-carbohydrate foods during the ceremonies. This resulted in his current situation of uncontrolled blood sugar.
Nursing Diagnosis
From the above scenario, it is justifiable to relate our nursing diagnosis to cultural beliefs and practices, that is, ineffective therapeutic management related to cultural dietary practices, as evidenced by high blood sugar that is unrecordably high. The patient reports medication adherence and admits to disregarding the dietary recommendation, which has now jeopardized the therapeutic regimen. The Hb1c test was done to obtain the average blood sugar level for the past three months, and the value was 14%, which is far above the standard figure of 7%. This indicates poor blood sugar control despite adherence to medication (Goyal et al., 2021).
Nursing Interventions
The most severe symptom that the nurses should prioritize to manage diabetic patients is hyperglycemia. It is treated as an emergency due to the dire threats it poses to one’s health (Goyal et al., 2021). For this reason, the nurses have to come up with culturally sensitive interventions that will help control this symptom. The first intervention is to allow the nurse to undergo cultural competence training that will allow them to understand the patient’s cultural beliefs. This will enable them to come up with interventions that will help the patient come out of the situation without feeling culturally affected. An example is when the nurse undergoes culturally sensitive training and applies the knowledge in collaboration with the dietician to develop a culturally appropriate meal plan that meets the dietary practices while still aligning with the nutritional requirements for diabetes management (Turkson-Ocran et al., 2022).
Secondly, the nurse can intervene by bringing a collaborative management approach. This can be achieved by involving family members and religious leaders who may influence the patient’s dietary preferences. Involving these two groups in the care process will help get insights into cultural practices and preferences to help develop strategies for managing the patient’s diabetes effectively. Subsequently, this will help educate them about the importance of dietary modification in the management of diabetes. This will help come to an understanding and harmoniously look for alternative culturally acceptable foods that align with the diabetic plate (Turkson-Ocran et al., 2022).
Conclusion
Cultural competence and collaboration can be used to positively impact patient outcomes by effectively addressing cultural practices that influence health. However, some cultural practices are acceptable and healthy. Some of these practices embrace good moral values and discourage vices that may lead to ill health. Such practices include taboos, myths, and norms that guide sexuality and responsible sexual behaviors. It is important to embrace such culture and use it in health campaigns to promote health. Also, some cultural practices negatively impact health practices and should be reviewed so as to come up with the best intervention plans. Lastly, it is the role of a nurse to practice patient advocacy and always ensure the best care is delivered, irrespective of cultural differences. The nurse should be guided by the ethical principles of practice to ensure patient comfort and that the best therapeutic approaches are applied to improve patient health outcomes.
References
Aloke, C., Egwu, C. O., Aja, P. M., Obasi, N. A., Chukwu, J., Akumadu, B. O., Ogbu, P. N., & Achilonu, I. (2022). Current advances in the management of diabetes mellitus. Biomedicines, 10(10), 2436. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10102436
Goyal, R., Jialal, I., & Castano, M. (2021). Diabetes mellitus type 2 (Nursing). PubMed; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK568737/
Nielsen-Bohlman, L., Panzer, A. M., & Kindig, D. A. (2019). Culture and Society. In www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. National Academies Press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK216037/ (Original work published 2004)
Turkson-Ocran, R.-A. N., Nkimbeng, M., Erol, D., Hwang, D. A., Aryitey, A. A., & Hughes, V. (2022). Strategies for providing culturally sensitive care to diverse populations. Journal of Christian Nursing, 39(1), 16–21. https://doi.org/10.1097/
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Question 
natural considerations and their influence on a client’s health. You will also discuss the impact of cultural beliefs on the success a ilure of nursing interventions.
Instructions
1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.
The Influence of Cultural Practices on Health-A Clinical Perspective
2. In your textbook, Physical Examination & Health Assessment, read Chapter 2, “Cultural Assessment.
3. Prepare to discuss the following prompts:
a. Using a real-world clinical example, but keeping HIPAA regulations in mind, discuss an example of how you have seen cultural practices impact a client’s health.
b. Develop one nursing diagnosis for your clinical example related to specific cultural practice with subjective and objective evidence.
c. Discuss at least two nursing interventions that were impacted by the cultural beliefs of the client.
4. Research and select at least two current scholarly sources to support your explanations and insights. OCLS resources are preferred sources and can be accessed through IWU Resources Wikipedia is not permitted, as it is not a peer-reviewed, scholarly source.
5. Whether written or spoken, interactions are expected to:
a. clearly and thoroughly address the prompt with meaningful information that shows critical thinking.
b. introduce your own ideas and questions to add greater depth to the discussion, rather than restating what your classmates have shared. (Include much more than “Great post,” or “I agree.”)
c. refer to relevant course concepts as you discuss your learning together.
d. develop insightful conversation by directly addressing your classmates’ ideas.
e. demonstrate professionalism.
6. Based on your educational setting, complete tasks in the instructions below.