CARING ABOUT CULTURE TPJ 4 M CARING ABOUT

CARING ABOUT CULTURE TPJ 4 M

CARING ABOUT CULTURE To care for someone, I must know who I am. To care for someone, I must know who the other is. To care for someone, I must be able to bridge the gap between myself and the other. Jean Watson (Cited by J. Anderson, RN, Ph. D, 1987)

CARING ABOUT CULTURE Race - refers to groups of people who share similar features, such as l skin colour l hair colour and texture l facial characteristics l bone structure l Ex- Caucasians, Aboriginals, blacks, Asians

CARING ABOUT CULTURE Ethnicity – is not necessarily a nationality, but, refers to groups of people who share a common: l history l language l geography l national origin l religion l identity l Ex. Chinese, Irish, Inuit

CARING ABOUT CULTURE l Culture refers to the learned values, beliefs, norms and way of life that influence an individual’s thinking, decisions and actions in certain ways. l Culture is the characteristics of a group of people and does not necessarily mean you are from a certain country. EX. You could be an Asian (race) from Ireland (ethnicity) who is Muslim (culture/religion) l Culture includes: ¡ Language ¡ Values ¡ Beliefs ¡ habits * Ways of life * Rules of behaviour * Traditions l These characteristics are learned from living within the group and influence a person’s attitudes and behaviours

CARING ABOUT CULTURE Culture doesn’t just mean a language, religion or country. Culture is everywhere, everyone has a culture and each person’s culture is individual. l Nurses l Schools l Police officers l Workplace l Cities l Gangs What other examples can you think of?

CARING ABOUT CULTURE EFFECT OF CULTURE Culture affects many different things: l communication l family and social organization l religion and worship l health care practices and reactions to illness As well as culture is influenced by many factors such as: l gender l race l ethnicity l life events l religion l age and many more. .

CARING ABOUT CULTURE AFFECTS COMMUNICATION l l l touch personal space eye contact facial expressions silence CULTURE AND THE FAMILY l In Western culture the nuclear family is the most common and care outside of the immediate family is often left to others l In Asian and Aboriginal cultures, extended families are common, elder and sick family members are often taken care of by the family

CARING ABOUT CULTURE AND RELIGION l You will care for clients that have different religious beliefs than you. Some do not practice religion. l You must always respect the clients beliefs, practices and religious symbols/items. l Never try to convert a client CULTURE AND PERCEPTIONS l Culture greatly affects how people view health care. l Different cultures have different beliefs on the causes and cures for illnesses. Be aware if your client is taking any herbal medicine or practicing alternative therapies.

CARING ABOUT CULTURE PROVIDING CULTURALLY SENSITIVE CARE l It is extremely important as a health care worker in today’s society to provide culturally sensitive care because each client is an individual with their own culture l Never stereotype a client based on ethnicity, religion or for any other reason l Stereotype – overly simple or exaggerated impression of a person or group of people l Stereotypes are often associated with prejudice l Prejudice – an attitude that judges a person based on his/her membership in a group l Prejudice often leads to discrimination l Discrimination – a behaviour that treats people unfairly based on their group membership