Cultural-Awareness

Cultural Awareness, Cultural Diversity, Cultural Distance

With increasing global travel and movement, there is a merging of peoples which demands cultural understanding. Different cultures have established values and norms that govern how individuals communicate with one another and how they behave towards each other. There is even a difference in culture between a practitioner and a patient.

Our culture determines the pattern in which we undertake both roles and responsibilities related to family friends and the workplace (Holland and Hogg 2010). To care for people of a different culture to our own, it is necessary to understand the meaning of the following: perspective, culture, ethnicity, prejudice, discrimination, race, racism, equality, asylum seeker and refugee.

CARING FOR HARD TO REACH GROUPS BY DR JENNY SWANN
 

TO DO

  1. Have you engaged with a person who is culturally different to you, what were you thinking and feeling during this interaction?
  2. Define these key terms: culture, ethnicity, prejudice, discrimination, race, racism, equality, asylum seeker and refugee.
  3. Identify the knowledge and skills that you will need to undertake an assessment which is culturally appropriate for all patients
  4. Consider your experience of working in the HSE or any other healthcare organisation, identify the make-up of the patient care team

 

Further learning:

NCCRI (2004) Antiracism and intercultural training for trainers. Dublin, NCCRI. http://www.integration.ie/website/omi/omiwebv6.nsf/page/AXBN-7STKX61616578-en/$File/Guidelines%20on%20Anti-Racism%20and%20Intercultural%20Training.pdf

Holland, K and Hogg, C. (2010) Cultural awareness in nursing and health care. London, Hodder Arnold. https://books.google.ie/books?id=Sp1nKIn3onsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Cultural+awarness+in+nursing+and+health+care&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Cultural%20awarness%20in%20nursing%20and%20health%20care&f=false

 

To View the full interview with Dr Jenny Swann by Dr Pat Henn please click below

 

Please view the recordings of the UCC 2015 Seminar on Refugees here refugee seminar