Appalachian and Arab Heritage
Similarities in Health Care Beliefs of Appalachian and Arab Heritage
Moreover, the two cultures have some similarities regarding healthcare, related to gender preference, modesty causes of the illness, and other cultural beliefs. One common feature between the two cultures is that they both recognize the role of traditional medicine. Before one seeks professional health attention, they first consider seeking assistance from traditional healers. Despite modernization, the two communities still acknowledge the presence of herbalists and folk medicine (Savage et al. 2018). Whenever one feels sick, they consult traditional medicine men and women. They do so unless the cases are severe is when they visit professional health centers.
The second similarity is how the two communities attribute the cause of the sickness. Both communities attribute sickness to bad luck, poor lifestyles, and witchcraft. For the Appalachians, they consider changing their behavior as one form of therapy. For example, when a cigarette smoker gets sick, the first therapy they have in mind is to quit smoking. The Arabs, on their part, believe that sickness is caused by fate (Purnell & Fenkl, 2019). When one gets sick, the idea of visiting a health Centre is not part of their options because they do not believe that people can be treated and get healed in hospitals.
How Beliefs Influence the Delivery of Health Care
These cultural beliefs of the two cultural heritages influence how health care is delivered. When people from these communities decide to seek medical care within the hospital, health care practitioners must try to understand the role of folk medicine. Some of them seek medical attention when they are already following other types of traditional medicine. Doctors have to follow the effects of folk medicine on the treatment process. If folk medicine is neutral, sometimes physicians consider administering their treatment alongside the folk medicine that the patient had already been using. Health caregivers also need to comprehend that folk medicine is part of their culture and should not intimidate them for doing what they do.
The beliefs have also forced nurses and physicians to be culturally sensitive in the delivery of health care. When attending to a patient from either of these communities, one has to be keen not to mention something that would offend their health care beliefs. Health care professionals must aim to use the simplest language so that they can understand each other. Additionally, they also ought to acknowledge their beliefs and communicate in the best way possible, especially if the professional management of an illness contradicts the patient’s beliefs. Helping patients understand the process of the care being provided and helping them make shared decisions about their care is a critical aspect of the adequate delivery of health care services.
References
