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Introduction
Intercultural communication plays a central role in the delivery of healthcare services among different communities. Modern communities are increasingly becoming more diverse with time due to the local and global migration of people. Owing to the immigration of people, cultural diversity has increased in various cities across the world. Pino, Soriano, and Higginbottom (2013) assert that cultural differences between the immigrant population and native population affect healthcare interactions, and consequently delivery of healthcare services in a given population. The nature of cultural diversity in a given population reflects cultural issues that the health care system is grappling with when delivering healthcare services to people. The increasing cultural diversity among various populations has great implications for the healthcare providers because they have to apply a holistic approach in communication, interaction, and in the provision of customized healthcare services that suit the needs of a certain cultural community. Therefore, this essay examines the demographics of the population in Cranford, New Jersey, and analyzes their implications in healthcare delivery.
Demographics
Cranford is one of the towns found in New Jersey in the United States, which has a population of approximately 23,000. According to U.S. Census Bureau (2011), in the 2010 census, Cranford had a population of 22,625 that comprised of 6,154 families and 8,583 households. From such data, it is apparent that households and families are small in size for they have an average of 4 and 3 members respectively. In racial composition, the population of Cranford comprises mainly the White (20,781), which forms 91.85%, followed by Hispanic 6.51% (1,474), Asian 2.8% (643), and then African American 2.62% (592). Other racial groups are 18 Native Americans, 4 Pacific Islanders, 149 Filipinos, 62 Koreans, 221 Chinese, and 14 Vietnamese (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). The data indicate that the Cranford population encompasses different races that have different languages. From a religious perspective, the majority of people in Cranford are Christians.
Analysis of the population structure shows that people within the age bracket of 40 to 64 years form about 30% of the population. According to U.S. Census Bureau (2011), out of 8,583 households, 60.2% had married couples, 33.4% had children below 18 years, and 8.4% had no husbands. The data suggest that a significant number of households in Cranford consist of nuclear families. From the socioeconomic aspect, Cranford is an important center of commerce in New Jersey because it contributes markedly to the growth of the gross domestic product. The 2010 census shows that median family income is about $128,000, while the median household income is approximately $107,000 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). Additionally, the level of poverty among the population is low because about 4% of people in the Cranford population live below the poverty line. In the aspect of education, Cranford High School ranks among the top schools in New Jersey because about 90% of 12th graders manage to progress into colleges and universities.
Implications of Demographics
The racial composition of the Cranford population shows that it comprises of different races, which implies that cultural communication is essential in the delivery of healthcare services. The possible intercultural communication that occurs in the Cranford population is among Whites, Asians, Hispanics, African Americans, Native Americans, Chinese, Filipinos, and other racial groups that are present in the population. Since these racial groups speak different languages and have different cultural values and traditions, intercultural communication is of great significance to healthcare. Durey, Thompson, and Wood (2012) assert that misunderstanding in communication due to language barriers can cause medical errors and contribute to poor health outcomes. Moreover, since the White population comprises about 90% of the Cranford population, discrimination, a negative impact of diversity, can affect the delivery of healthcare services to the racial minorities.
Given that the Cranford population has diverse races with different languages, it is imperative for healthcare providers should learn their languages so that they can provide customized healthcare services to the community. Attitudes and perceptions of healthcare providers affect how they provide healthcare services to minority groups (Durey, Thompson, & Wood, 2012). In this view, healthcare providers need to understand the cultural languages of different races in the Cranford population so that they can deliver healthcare services effectively, without undue language barriers or discrimination. Cote (2013) identifies cultural barriers as relational, contextual, personal, and institutional, and recommends that healthcare providers should gain intercultural competence to overcome these cultural barriers. Thus, if healthcare providers need to serve the Cranford population well, they should understand the cultural languages of Whites, African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, and Asians amongst other cultural languages of minority groups.
Conclusion
Intercultural communication is critical in the delivery of quality healthcare services because modern society is increasingly becoming diverse with time due to local and global migration of people. Analysis of the Cranford population indicates that it comprises of diverse races such as Whites, African Americans, Asians, Native Americans, and other minority races. Given the diverse nature of the Cranford population, it implies that healthcare providers who serve the population grapple with cultural barriers that range from personal to institutional aspects of healthcare. Therefore, for healthcare providers to enhance the delivery of healthcare services, they should gain intercultural competence.
References
Cote, D. (2013). Intercultural communication in health care: Challenges and solutions in work rehabilitation practices and training: A comprehensive review. Disability and Rehabilitation, 35(2), 153-163.
Durey, A., Thompson, C., & Wood, M. (2012). Time to bring down the twin towers in poor Aboriginal hospital care: Addressing institutional racism and misunderstandings in communication. Internal Medicine Journal, 42(1), 17-22.
Pino, F., Soriano, E., & Higginbottom, G. (2013). Sociocultural and linguistic boundaries influencing intercultural communication between nurses and Moroccan patients southern Spain: A focused ethnography. BioMed Central Nursing, 12(1), 12-14.
U.S. Census Bureau (2011). Profile of general population and housing characteristics: 2010 demographic profile data. Web.
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