Occupational therapists are challenged with understanding and adapting their practices to meet the needs of clients who are accustomed to different cultures. Chinese families are heavily rooted in their traditional rituals and cultural origins, which have a dramatic influence on the daily routines. The disparities between cultures can pose a significant barrier if occupational therapists discredit the importance of a client’s lifestyle. In order to promote maximum occupational performance, it is critical to understand specific cultural beliefs that can impede on a client’s occupational performance if they are not incorporated during therapy sessions. Like many Americans, Chinese individuals strongly believe in “the harmony between the mind
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Gender roles were extremely prominent, and they limited women greatly. As with many nations around the world, China’s extreme level of social inequality has diminished. Women are allowed, and even encouraged, to pursue an education, enter the workforce, and freely choose who they would like to marry (Xie, 2013, pg.3). The equality of males and females, however, does not remove the longstanding belief that a family should be “close and interdependent” (Xu & Xia, 2014, pg. 38). Understanding the dynamic of a Chinese family is essential, because the client will have a different interpretation of independence than an American client would. According to the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, independence is “an individual’s ability to participate in necessary and preferred occupations in a satisfying manner irrespective of the amount or kind of external assistance” (Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, 2014, pg. S43). Chinese clients promote their tradition that members of the family should “become major caregivers” (Xu & Xia, 2014, pg. 36). A family’s responsibility to care for someone with a disability is important to them. Occupational therapists ought to be aware that completing activities of daily living entirely independently may not be an essential goal for Chinese clients, as there is a strong familial interrelationship in which children and spouses would prefer to help their loved. Nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities will most likely be an irrational option for Chinese clients, and for this reason, it is critical that occupational therapists educate families on proper techniques to help their loved one who has a
Gender roles were extremely prominent, and they limited women greatly. As with many nations around the world, China’s extreme level of social inequality has diminished. Women are allowed, and even encouraged, to pursue an education, enter the workforce, and freely choose who they would like to marry (Xie, 2013, pg.3). The equality of males and females, however, does not remove the longstanding belief that a family should be “close and interdependent” (Xu & Xia, 2014, pg. 38). Understanding the dynamic of a Chinese family is essential, because the client will have a different interpretation of independence than an American client would. According to the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, independence is “an individual’s ability to participate in necessary and preferred occupations in a satisfying manner irrespective of the amount or kind of external assistance” (Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, 2014, pg. S43). Chinese clients promote their tradition that members of the family should “become major caregivers” (Xu & Xia, 2014, pg. 36). A family’s responsibility to care for someone with a disability is important to them. Occupational therapists ought to be aware that completing activities of daily living entirely independently may not be an essential goal for Chinese clients, as there is a strong familial interrelationship in which children and spouses would prefer to help their loved. Nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities will most likely be an irrational option for Chinese clients, and for this reason, it is critical that occupational therapists educate families on proper techniques to help their loved one who has a