Synopses & Reviews
The seventh edition of this well-respected book continues to promote an awareness of the dimensions and complexities involved in caring for people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Completely revised and updated, it examines the differences existing within North America by probing the health care system and consumers, and examples of traditional health beliefs and practices among selected populations. An emphasis on the influences of recent social, political, and demographic changes helps to explore the issues and perceptions of health and illness today. An essential for any health-care professional, this book sets the standard for cultural perspectives.
FEATURES INCLUDE:
- Pocket Guide to Assessment and Health Tradition available online for downloading
- Companion Website with activities, test questions, and more
- New Research on Culture feature depicting recent studies related to cultural competence
- New photographs displaying examples and icons of various cultures
- New learning outcomes at the beginning of every chapter
- Expanded content on the influence of spirituality and religion on health in cultural contexts
- Updated chapter on the health care delivery system including discussions of barriers and alternatives
- Demographic background discussion of each of the U.S. Census Bureau's categories of the population for a statistical overview of the diversity of patient populations
Synopsis
The seventh edition of this well-respected book continues to promote an awareness of the dimensions and complexities involved in caring for people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Completely revised and updated, it examines the differences existing within North America by probing the health care system and consumers, and examples of traditional health beliefs and practices among selected populations. An emphasis on the influences of recent social, political, and demographic changes helps to explore the issues and perceptions of health and illness today. An essential for any health-care professional, this book sets the standard for cultural perspectives.
About the Author
Dr. Rachel E. Spector has been a student of culturally diverse HEALTH and ILLNESS beliefs and practices for 35 years and has researched and taught courses on culture and HEALTH care for the same time span. Dr. Spector has had the opportunity to work in many different communities, including the American Indian and Hispanic communities in Boston, Massachusetts. Her studies have taken her to many places: most of the United States, Canada, and Mexico; several European countries, including Denmark, England, Finland, Iceland, Italy, France, Russia, Spain, and Switzerland; Israel and Pakistan; and Australia and New Zealand. She was fortunate enough to collect traditional amulets and remedies from many of these diverse communities and to meet practitioners of traditional HEALTH care in several places. She was instrumental in the creation and presentation of the exhibit “Immigrant HEALTH Traditions” at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, May 1994 through January 1995. She and has exhibited HEALTH-related objects in several other settings. Recently, she served as a Colaboradora Honorifica (Honorary Collaborator) in the University of Alicante in Alicante, Spain, and Tamulipus, Mexico. In 2006, she was a Lady Davis Fellow in the Henrietta Zold-Hadassah Hebrew University School of Nursing in Jerusalem, Israel. This text was translated into Spanish by Maria Munoz and published in Madrid by Prentice Hall as Las Culturas de la SALUD in 2003. She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and a Scholar in Transcultural Nursing Society. The Massachusetts Association of Registered Nurses, the state organization of the American Nurses’ Association, honored her as a “Living Legend” in 2007. In 2008 she was recognized by the American Nurses’ Association for her work in Human Rights.
Table of Contents
Contents
P REFACE
A WORD ABOUT H EALTH
UNIT I CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS
C HAPTER 1 Cultural Heritage and History
National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in CULTURALCARE
Heritage Consistency
Acculturation Themes
Ethnocultural Life Trajectories
Commingling Variables
Cultural Conflict
Cultural Phenomena Affecting Health
C HAPTER 2 Diversity
Census 2000
Immigration
Poverty
C HAPTER 3 Health and Illness
Health
Illness
UNIT II HEALTH DOMAINS
C HAPTER 4 Health Traditions
HEALTH and ILLNESS
HEALTH Traditions Model
HEALTH Protection
Health/HEALTH Care Choices
Folk Medicine
Health/HEALTH Care Philosophies
C HAPTER 5 Healing Traditions
HEALING
Ancient Forms of HEALING
Religion and HEALING
HEALING and Today’s Beliefs
Ancient Rituals Related to the Life Cycle
C HAPTER 6 Familial Health Traditions
Familial Health/HEALTH Traditions
Consciousness Raising
C HAPTER 7 Health Care Delivery and Issues
The Health Care Provider’s Culture
Health Care Costs
Trends in Development of the Health Care System
Common Problems in Health Care Delivery
Pathways to Health Services
Barriers to Health Care
Medicine as an Institution of Social Control
UNIT III HEALTH AND ILLNESS PANORAMAS
C HAPTER 8 H EALTH and I LLNESS in the American Indian and Alaska Native Population
Background
Traditional Definitions of H EALTH and I LLNESS
Traditional Methods of HEALING
Current Health Care Problems
The Indian Health Service
C HAPTER 9 H EALTH and I LLNESS in the Asian Populations
Background
Traditional Definitions of H EALTH and I LLNESS
Traditional Methods of HEALTH Maintenance and Protection
Traditional Methods of HEALTH Restoration
Current Health Problems
C HAPTER 10 H EALTH and I LLNESS in the Black Population
Background
Traditional Definitions of H EALTH and I LLNESS
Traditional Methods of HEALTH Maintenance and Protection
Traditional Methods of HEALTH Restoration
Current Health Problems
C HAPTER 11 H EALTH and I LLNESS in the Hispanic Populations
Background
Mexicans
Puerto Ricans
C HAPTER 12 H EALTH and I LLNESS in the White Populations
Background
German Americans
Italian Americans
Polish Americans
E PILOGUE
A PPENDIX A Selected Key Terms Related to Cultural Diversity in Health and Illness
A PPENDIX B Calendar: Religious Holidays That Change Dates
A PPENDIX C Suggested Course Outline
A PPENDIX D Suggested Course Activity–Urban Hiking
A PPENDIX E Heritage Assessment Tool
A PPENDIX F Quick Guide for C ULTURAL C ARE
A PPENDIX G Data Resources
B IBLIOGRAPHY
I NDEX