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Significance of using the Heritage Assessment when evaluating the needs of the whole person
The Heritage Assessment Tool (HAT) is extremely useful when evaluating the needs of the whole person. The tool is used for assessing an individual’s needs, ensuring health maintenance, safeguarding, and restoring cultural beliefs. Such an assessment ensures that the needs of patients from a wide array of populations are met. Consequently, holistic and quality healthcare is guaranteed. The HAT has questions regarding the individual’s practices and beliefs.
In addition, the tool has questions about the childhood events, which play a great role in shaping the beliefs and values that an individual holds in adulthood. It is imperative for nurses to use culturally sensitive health education when attending to all patients. Through the HAT, a nurse can acquire adequate information that is essential for evaluating the health needs of an individual (Spector, 2009).
The HAT contains 29 questions that reveal a person’s original country, grandparent’s details, parent’s birth place, education, religious beliefs, and native language. Consequently, a nurse can identify the patient’s needs and diagnose him appropriately, which is vital for ensuring the most appropriate care. It is worth pointing out that the tool promotes communication through arousing interest and opening avenues for relevant questions. Consequently, stereotyping is shunned since the nurse becomes aware of the patient’s feelings and health care views.
Health Tradition Differences between Cultures
Cultural awareness refers to the level of a person’s comprehension of the practices and traditions that guide him in relation to other backgrounds, particular cultural values, and health attitudes. According to Spector (2008), it is imperative for health care experts to possess the skills and knowledge necessary for caring for patients from all cultural backgrounds. Healthcare experts should be culturally competent, which implies that they can care for diverse patients.
As far as cultural practices and traditions are concerned, the Health Assessment Tool is a vital checklist for acquiring knowledge about the client’s beliefs and culture before initiating care. Considering that multicultural nations possess varying beliefs and cultures, the manner in which nurses carry out patient- centred care is highly influenced. For effective and optimal nursing care, nurses should possess wide knowledge regarding how various cultures perceive health restoration, protection, and maintenance (Venn & Quiggin, 2007).
American Indians
Health Maintenance
The Indians accrue tribal, community, extended and nuclear members keen attention. Traditionally, women are regarded as the care givers. Furthermore, grandparents play a great role in caring and counselling the grandchildren. The Indians’ contemporary diet was highly nutritious. Moreover, it was low in sugar and fat, and grains and traditional vegetables were used. Traditionally, this cultural group consumed wild game in addition to gathering wild berries, grains, and leaves. They also consumed nutritious foods such as turnips, corn, and fish (Spector, 2008).
According to the Indians, there was a link between nature and people. Water was a life- sustaining and sacred source. There were no laws and taxes hindering the sale of tobacco among the youths. As a result, abuse of tobacco resulted to an increase in stroke, cancer, and heart conditions.
Health protection
Children were supposed to offer care and respect their elders. The elders were given priority during food service. The Indians valued the exceptional cultural legacies associated with education. Therefore, youths were sent for education after which they returned to the community to assist people. The Indians had plenty of educational and health services that aimed at preventing, treating, and managing pneumonia, influenza, nephritis, suicide, stroke, chronic respiratory disease, chronic liver disease, diabetes, injuries, cancer, and heart disease. A majority of these diseases were as a result of unhealthy lifestyles.
Health restoration
During ceremonies, tobacco was smoked to welcome healing. Healing could be attained though songs, dances, and drumming. The origins of life had to be united to ensure harmony that was essential to prevent sicknesses. Local clinics and medicine men helped in restoring harmony. However, medicine men were mostly used. Silence and time helped in promoting harmony. The Indians were warned against expressing pain. They were supposed to describe the symptoms (Spector, 2009). The Indian’s time perception was different, which may result to missing healthcare appointments. The Indians used the family- centered approach when communicating grave medical conditions.
Cambodians
Health Maintenance
To maintain healthy bodies, the Cambodians consumed a wide variety of grains, vegetables, and fruits. They ensured that all the three meals were taken, and the meals had to be balanced. The Cambodians refrained from alcohol.
Health protection
The Cambodians valued the aspect of using both cold and hot food. Elaborate dishes were only consumed during festivals. Sicknesses were associated with natural powers. Moreover, the Cambodians associated illnesses with sins committed. The Cambodians believed that evil spirits brought about mental illness. A majority of the Cambodians suffered from HIV/ AIDS, malaria, hepatitis B, malnutrition, malaria and tuberculosis. Unfortunately, most of the fish in Cambodia had high quantities of PCBs and mercury. Physicians confided end of life matters to the family to protect the patient from information about poor prognosis (Spector, 2008).
Health restoration
As a result of the high levels of metals in fish, there was a need to supplement them with alternative protein sources. To identify disease symptoms, specific questions were asked. The Cambodians held healing ceremonies so as to reinstate health. They desisted from screening and preventative care. Herbal medicines were used to relieve pain. Dermabrasive procedures left skin marks.
Hispanics/ Latinos
Health Maintenance
To ensure healthy bodies, the Latinos consumed healthy whole grains, fruits and vegetables. The traditional Latinos shunned from processed foods. They also take light meals for dinner and heavy meals for lunch (Venn & Quiggin, 2007).
Health protection
The Latinos protected health through balancing hot and cold foods. A majority of the Hispanics suffered from pneumonia, influenza, chronic liver disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer, and heart disease. Hypertension, diabetes, and obesity are prevalent since the Hispanics currently consume fast foods and do not engage in exercise.
Health restoration
Spiritualists and folk healers restored health among the Hispanics. For effective health restoration, there was a need to address cultural and language barriers, increase accessibility to preventive care, and health insurance. The healthcare experts should have educated the Hispanics about healthy and nutritious diets, preventive screening, and exercise.
Common health traditions
The cultures discussed valued balancing hot and cold foods so as to maintain health. In addition, traditional nutritious fruits, vegetables, and whole grains were consumed to promote health.
Subscription to practises and traditions
Culturally competent care is essential in ensuring that nurses are able to care for patients from diverse backgrounds. Culturally competent care entails maintaining and recruiting an assorted workforce, ensuring that care is offered in a way that is culturally competent, and providing the employees with occasional trainings that are linguistically and culturally convenient for effective service delivery.
References
Spector, R. E. (2008). Cultural Care: guides to heritage assessment and health traditions. New York: Prentice Hall.
Spector, R. E. (2009). Cultural diversity in health and illness. London: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Venn, T. J., & Quiggin, J. (2007). Accommodating indigenous cultural heritage values in resource assessment: Cape York Peninsula and the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia. Ecological Economics, 61(2), 334-344.
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