Cultural Awareness and
Hispanics
The Health professional
encounters many different ethnic groups on a daily basis, but how does one know
if they are providing cultural competent care?
It’s very important for the health care professional to treat each person
the same no matter what there ethnic background therefore this page illustrates
how to provide cultural competent care to the Hispanic population.
The term Hispanic
was created by the U.S. Census Bureau in 1970 as an ethnic category for persons
who identify themselves as being of Spanish origin. The term Hispanic denotes neither race nor color, and a Hispanic
may be White, Black or American Indian.
Although the term is widely used many members of the Hispanic population
prefer the term “Latino”. The key to
developing a good professional relationship with Hispanic patients are as
follows:
Show
respect, by addressing adults by title and family name and shaking hands at the
beginning of each meeting. Also using
Usted rather than the informal tu for you, when speaking Spanish. Be sure to make eye contact without
necessarily expecting reciprocation. Speaking directly to the patient, even
when speaking through an interpreter.
Show
professionalism by treating patients warm and friendly, sitting close, leaning
forward and using gestures when speaking to the patients using actions that
show the patient that they are important and how they think matters.
. Be
sure to involve the family in decision making and care.
Make sure the patient fully understands the treatment plan.
Respect the spiritual side of physical complaint. Many Hispanics patients complain that health
care professionals offer only a fragmentary
approach to care because they disregard the supernatural and physiological
complaints.
It also would be helpful
for the health care professional to be aware of certain health care problems
that are prevalent among the population and what are some of the population
beliefs about health care overall. For
example, the Hispanic population tend to have a diet that consist of high fat
and fried foods and high carbohydrates and a low intake of green leafy
vegetables and milk and eggs. A belief
that is shared among Hispanics is that
cure requires family participation and support. The family’s role is to indulge the patient, provide
unconditional love and support and participate in health care decision making.
Knowing a little bit about the culture can help the health care professional
provide better care for their patients and help make the hospital experience a
more comfortable and pleasurable experience for not only the patient but the
family as well.
