Heritage Assessment Caridad Doucet Grand Canyon University: NRS-429V Family Centered Health Promotions Melva Bost RN, MS August 26, 2012
Heritage Assessment The United States has become a multicultural country. Everywhere you look, you see a plethora of cultures that range from Hispanic and African to Asian and American Indian. The varied traditions and beliefs of a multicultural country impact how nurses implement patient-centered care. The best way to provide optimal care in nursing is to become better informed in how different cultures view health maintenance, protection, and restoration. The Heritage Assessment is a wonderful tool to obtain information that can be used The Filipino family spoke Tagalong, and Cebuano and English. Mexican Americans view religion as a major influence on healthcare practices and beliefs. Traditional folk healers and herbal remedies may be used, as well as medical doctors and modern medicine. (Smith). With African Americans, religion and religious behaviors are valued, folk medicine is used, and healing models rely on prayer and song (African Community). Asians use herbal remedies, believe that illness comes from disharmony, and seek to maintain balance of ying and yang (Asian Community). Health maintenance views reflect cultural influences. Asians view their bodies as gifts and they are focused on prevention and maintaining their wellbeing (Asian Community). African Americans and Hispanic Americans have difficulty with prevention and have mainly crisis-based treatment; they are not motivated by future dangers if no symptoms are present. All three cultures want to restore health; some may use combined therapies by mixing the traditional (herbal medications) with the non-traditional (modern medications). Health restoration is tied to cultural beliefs. According to Smith, the three belief s of the families interviewed are as follows: African and Hispanic hold to “majico-religion” which means that healing comes through magic or religion(Smith); Asians hold to holistic healing that comes through rectifying disharmonies.(Asian Community) There seems to be a stronger heritage connection
