CULTURE AND COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES Martina Fernandez is a 65-year-old Hispanic woman who has had diabetes for 42 years. She is admitted to the hospital with extreme circulatory deficiency and evidence of early gangrene of the left foot. After speaking with her family members, she decides to go ahead with a below-the knee amputation. Following surgery, she had a stroke and the nurses gave her medications to dissolve the clot. As the day progressed, she got progressively worse; none of the medication seems to be working. By the next day, she didn’t even try to speak but would squeeze the nurse’s hand when spoken to. Mrs. Fernandez who is a widow lives with 5 of her children (all married with Kids). Mrs. Fernandez children are asking questions …show more content…
What folk/healing belief practise(s) is present in this case? Answer: In the Hispanic culture, family is very important healing system. Hispanic individuals usually seek advice from family members about medical procedures and decision. Whatever is mutually agreed upon by the family members usually stands as the final decision. Also in Hispanic culture, Home remedies and herbal knowledge are usually passed on from mother to daughter. Hence, nurses should consider including family members in the decision making process of a Hispanic patient if need be. Another folk healing belief that is used in this case is the use of herbs, ointments, concoctions for healing. In this case study the use of herbal remedy is apparent. The herbal remedy used in this case scenario may have been recommended by a Curandero. A Curandero who is a folk healer in the Hispanic culture is knowledgeable about the use of herbs and plants to heal illness. The help of a Curandero is usually sought out by individuals or family members experiencing illness. The herb that is suggested by the Curandero is then used to treat the illness. 3. What are the nursing interventions that can be implemented to facilitate communication between the client and her
In Anne Fadiman’s, A Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, there’s a conflicting battle going on between cultures. While it might never be specifically stated, Anne Fadiman attempts to convey a neutral understanding to her readers of the Hmong beliefs and culture alongside of the culture of biomedicine western society is mostly familiar with. While the Hmong beliefs and practices in medicine are taboo to western society, readers gradually see that Hmong medicine is just as equal or more powerful than biomedicine that we’re so familiar with. It’s an important concept to understand in this book is that the doctors are there to treat Lia’s disease, not precisely concerned with Lia as a person. Hmong medicine seems to be more related to in helping
Most Latin American (Latino) immigrants to the United States participate in the dominant health care system. [...] Oftentimes, while utilizing this health care system, they continue to use their own culturally appropriate health care practices [...] In curanderismo, santería, and espiritismo, the practitioners assess the patient and, depending on diagnosis, prepares a healing remedy or a variety of healing remedies. A remedy is any combination of medicinal herbs, religious amulets, and/or other products used for the prevention, treatment, or palliation of folk and somatic illnesses. It is usually administered by the practitioner and may involve several sessions.
In some cultures, family members make treatment decisions on behalf of their loved-ones. Provided the patient consents to this arrangement and is assured that any questions about his/her medical care will be answered, the physician may seek consent from a family member in lieu of the patient.”
The ever-growing Latino population in California has been using an alternative way to address their health problems. They are going back to their roots and using folk medicine or curanderismo. Curanderos are citizens of the Latino population who heal individuals through different herbs, massages, bone setting, counseling, spirituality, and midwifery (Hoskins and Padrón, 2017). This practice is important because many Latinos within California rely on non-traditional western practices to receive care for their illnesses because they don’t have access to other forms of health care or they want to follow their religious backgrounds. For example, in psychology, western psychologists don’t always understand the spirituality of the patient, which
One of her doctors, Dr. Neil Ernst, claimes that biomedicine was the only way to treats Lia’s illness but this is untrue in the culture of Hmong because biomedicine only treats the
The United States culture is a completely different experience for the Hmong people, something that is very foreign and unusual for them. The Hmong people and Lia’s family especially are faced with huge culture shock when it comes to the United States heath care system. They are use to more spiritual practices, while the doctors are focused on using strictly medication in order to heal patients. These completely different methods make it difficult to finding a common ground when trying to heal Lia. Many things that the Hmong culture is accustom to are not very well excepted in the US culture.
Puerto Rican Culture Religion, culture, beliefs, and ethnic customs can influence how patients understand health concepts, how they take care of their health, and how they make decisions related to their health (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2015). As a nurse, it is important to understand that not every patient shares the same healthcare beliefs. A nurse must be able to perform his or her duties without judgement and care for each patient with respect for their own unique set of beliefs and morals. In this paper, the Puerto Rican culture will be discussed, from family units to religious and cultural beliefs, as well as how Western Medicine fits into their healthcare. Explain the culture.
However, curanderismo allows other cultures to accept Chicanos due to stressing the importance of intercultural communication skills in society. For instance, even though some Chicanos have insurance, they tend to follow these holistic practices and are afraid to mention it to their primary physicians because they fear being rejected from society. According to Maritza Montiel, “A recent study concluded that 69% of Mexican Americans do not report the use of herbal remedies to their physicians” (Montiel 83). Becoming aware of the cultural differences, encourages cross cultural sensitivity by reducing the tensions between other cultures and practices. In addition, professionals can understand their patients’ needs by understanding the social framework of the biological illness.
Eighty-one percent of respondents indicated that they would be interested in learning more about traditional Native healing.” (Zubek 1925). Of course, one might argue that this survey was made in 1994 and that our culture and the scientific world is
Head pains were treated with sweet smelling herbs such as rose, lavender, sage and bay. Stomach pains were treated with wormwood, mint and balm. Amputations were performed by surgeons the ‘stump’ was cauterized with a pitch. Wounds were treated with vinegar as a cleaning agent and it was believed it would kill the disease. Typhoid, broken bones, wound, abscesses and fractures were treated in unsanitary environments.
What are customary health practices and beliefs? Do you use home or folk remedies, a healer, shaman or some other traditional or spiritual healer? Many things we do as home remedies. Growing up my mom made certain medicines. We would help mom look for roots and herbs.
During my sophomore year of high school, I begin to understand one of the four tenets of osteopathic medicine, which describes each individual as a unit composed of mind, body, and spirit. One of my uncles was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. As the illness progressed I noticed that the illness affected more than his kidney. It affected his emotional and mental states as well.
According to the CDC Hispanics of Mexican origin make up approximately 17 percent of the population in the United States. They are the one of the largest cultural populations in U.S. has risen dramatically over last four decades. There are a variety of reason that lead to health disparities for the Hispanic community these reasons then lead to the individuals not obtaining healthcare. First, it was reported by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2012 that 29.1 percent of the Hispanic do not have health insurance. This usually prevents the majority of Hispanic people from receiving health care.
Different cultures and religions believe in different types of healing practices, there are a lot of Americans that use herbal remedies to cure all sorts of illnesses. If these remedies don’t work, it is the responsibility of the individual and family members to seek out proper medical treatment for the
Religious and spiritual beliefs play a very important role in the medical care of Hispanic groups, they believe that their medical problems are a result of God 's verdict. The medical care is very expensive and because lack of money, they choice to traditional healers. Healers use herbs, aromas, and rituals to treat the ills of the body, mind, and spirit. Its ceremonial practice for healing has existed for centuries. However, for