The heritage Assessment Tool is a questioner design to assist individual to determine his

or her ethnic, religious and cultural background in relationship with health, illness and diseases.

Heritage and culture are different just like individual fingerprint. When looking at someone’s

heritage and tradition, it consists of methods used to maintain health, protect health, and restore

health. These concepts deal with person’s physical, mental and spiritual belief. Every individual

has their own heritage, and this is very different among different cultures. ( Spector 2009).

Heritage assessment tool in combination with questions relating to health and illness belief and

practices was helpful in helping individuals
Objects of envy can be such things as

a beautiful baby or child. The Middle Easterners also believe in the importance of

balancing hot and cold foods. These qualities do not have to do with actual food

temperature. They avoid eating incompatible foods at the same meal. The also accept

disease fatalities or death as the wish of Allah. Preventive care is not commonly practices

and medication is heavily used. My informant also disclosed that Middle Easterners often

fear hospital admission because hospitals are considered placed of misfortune where
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people go to die. Middle Easters are mostly Moslems and they are concerned that a

family cannot be sure that the body of one of its members will be treated correctly

according to religious customs, should the patient die in the hospital. Family members do

not plan for death and never give up hope until a patient actually died; grief is not

permitted to be shown in the presence of a dying person. Once death has occurred,

mourning may be loud and obvious. A person who is not overcome with emotion is not

admired.

The second person interviewed was a lady from Mexico that now lives in the

USA. Mexican culture is a rich culture of indigenous, Spanish and African influence and

myths. Folk medicine and belief in curanderos (medicine man) is common particularly

among the