The Effect of Ethnic and cultural background on Patient Engagement
Ethnic and cultural background influence on health is accounted as vast. In that, it affects perceptions regarding death, health, illnesses, and beliefs in regard to diseases causes, treatment preference and the capability of searching for medical assistance (Hunt, 2009). In the varying population, individuals swear to the use of home remedies thus opposing prescribed medicines or even fail to acquire health care services to prevent or treat an illness. Again, some ethnic, as well as cultural groups, can be reluctant in accepting healthcare therapies that fail to permit the adoption of external elements such as misfortunes (Hunt, 2009). Over the last several decades the U.S demographics has changed as ethnic and cultural diversity continues to increase. The cultural background of the patient can lead to a deep effect on healthcare consumer engagement as it influences health beliefs and the ability to make decisions.
Cultural background and ethnic affects communication, health disparities, doctor-patient relation and interaction, healthcare outcomes and illnesses experiences. The rising national diversity creates challenges as well as opportunities for healthcare providers and affects consumer engagement (Hunt, 2009). Healthcare access differs in terms of cultural background and race. Having usual care shows the high engagement that a patient has with the health care which influences the ability of individuals to acquire care services when required. Individuals from ethnic backgrounds with traditional beliefs tend to withdraw their engagement with healthcare by not acquiring usual care when needed. It is reported that a high number of the minority groups do not have usual health care access in comparison to the whites and their numbers are also represented less by the acquisitions for health insurances (Hunt, 2009).
It is without a doubt that patient-doctor relationship communication is the most significant aspect n health services delivery and that language and literacy barriers can be factoring influences. Most of the communication aspects are usually nonverbal based and thus cultural background plays a significant function in medical associations (Smedley, Stith, Nelson, & Institute of Medicine, 2002). Everything ranging from eye contact and how the examination in the health care facilities is addressed can be impacted by the cultural background of patients. Some cultural backgrounds such as the Asian one hinders patients from giving their interests or disagreements to the healthcare providers since their culture discourages confrontation and conflict by encouraging harmony. This implies that they additionally fail to follow the medical recommendations given on the belief that their concerns were not accounted for (Smedley, Stith, Nelson, & Institute of Medicine, 2002).
Most of the cultural groups and particularly the traditional ones, in general, holds a more authoritative perception of healthcare providers. They anticipate the doctors to offer recommendations on treatment and what they should do without raising their views (Knifton & Quinn, 2013). Their expectations of being told what is required of them by the health professions show that they fail to consider themselves as partners in healthcare who are required in ensuring that effective decisions are created. Hispanic populace also has a tendency of making consultations to the elders in regard to health decisions. Their values towards healthcare vary since they hold the belief that illnesses are acquired by the will of God. Cultural background and ethnic affects both the side of the doctor and the patients thus affecting the relationship amid the two (Knifton & Quinn, 2013).
Language and barriers of communications contribute in influencing the relationship amid the physicians and the patients. It is reported that over 37 million people in the United States speak other languages other than English (Knifton & Quinn, 2013).18 million of the population which represents 48 percent speaks less of English which implies that they do not speak the language so well. Communication and language barriers, therefore, affects the quality as well as the amount of healthcare that patients acquire. This normally results in being dissatisfied and affects their willingness to acquire health services based on their negative perceptions that are mainly influenced by communication barriers (Knifton & Quinn, 2013). The usability of healthcare services is additionally affected by the presence of interpreters in that those that required language interpretation during their visits are established to have lower health services visits.
Communication and language issues may lead to poor comprehension, patient dissatisfaction, low-quality care, and adherence. Most of the non-native speaking people are satisfied less with the provided care and they are less likely to make reports of their general health issues with the physicians as compared to the English speakers (Masters, 2017). The interpretation offered to the patients during care provision is a significant determinant of satisfaction. In that patients are less likely to acquire for care or engage in effective communication during their health acquisition services if they are characterized by low ability to communicate in English. The communication or language issue may result in poor understanding of the issue and hinders the ability of the patient to interact or object the views of the healthcare giver (Masters, 2017).
Low literacy level additionally affects the patient’s willingness to access healthcare services when they need them. In that most people from the minority groups are less educated and thus they lack the required skills of interpreting daily body functioning (Masters, 2017).The older persons from the groups hold lowered literacy levels and they hold less formal education access as compared to the younger generation. This implies that they are faced with complexity in deciding about the management of the health conditions and treatments recommendations. Due to cultural, communication and language issues which present differing education chances most people from the minority ethnic groups are characterized by low knowledge. The low knowledge may, therefore, affect the capability of patients to read and gain a better understanding of prescription instructions, treatment options and the significance of healthcare (Masters, 2017). This additionally affects their engagement with healthcare based on the illiteracy belief of underrating healthcare impact. Low literacy leads to lowered health care services access since individuals do not value their health as compared to those with increased knowledge.
In conclusion, ethnic and cultural background affects patient’s healthcare engagement which is mainly influenced by cultural beliefs, low literacy, and language and communication issues. Cultural competence is, therefore, a necessity because it is a significant aspect in health care services delivery efficiency. In addition, cultural competence will lead to the rise of interactions between the patients and the health caregiver which is important in creating comprehensive understanding and it also facilitates quality care. Patient healthcare is negatively affected by ethnic and cultural beliefs by creating dissatisfaction which in turn lowers the willingness of patients to access healthcare assistance. The issues regarding satisfaction and quality are the primary concerns for individuals from the non-native cultures who are mainly influenced by ethnic beliefs. Cultural competence is essential in creating good relations amid the health care and the consumers by changing the existing perception of professional authority rather than partnering amid the consumers and health caregivers.
References
Hunt, R. (2009). Introduction to community-based nursing. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Knifton, L., & Quinn, N. (2013). Public mental health: Global perspectives. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Masters, K. (2017). Role development in professional nursing practice. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Smedley, B. D., Stith, A. Y., Nelson, A. R., & Institute of Medicine (U.S.). (2002). Unequal treatment: Confronting racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press.
