Transcultural nursing recognizes the influence of cultural factors on the human experience including the individual’s views of well-being, health, illness and death. To effectively plan care and interventions that the patient will positively respond to, it’s essential that the nurse learn about the patient’s culture (Andrews & Boyle, 2016). For this week’s discussion post I will review how the Hispanic culture perceives communication, space, social organization, time, and environmental control as well as discuss any ethnic biological variations. The purpose of the review is to better understand how these factors influence the Hispanic culture and to how to incorporate this information when giving care to the Hispanic patient.
Understanding …show more content…
Subgroups differ greatly from a biological standpoint, but studies have shown that Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans have a greater genetic predisposition for having Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus due to an increased percentage of Native Indian genetic admixture. There’s also a tendency to overeat due to social pressures and the desire to maintain family relationships. To decline food may be seen as impolite and socially unacceptable. Nutrition education is key because traditional foods tend to be higher in carbohydrates and saturated fats. Since family members are directly involved with managing disease treatment, providers should engage the extended family in the treatment plan for nutrition, and because the family eats together as a group, any change in meal plans result in nutrition improvement for the whole family (Caballero, …show more content…
After reviewing literature sources, there are many changes I want to incorporate into my practice. When meeting with patients, it’s best to have an interpreter available, involve family members in the conversation, and remember that personal space is smaller so it may be appropriate to sit closer or lean in during conversation. The outpatient clinic where I work has a strict policy regarding patients arriving late, so I that it’s important to intervene on behalf of the Hispanic patient when he/she arrives late. When there are care decisions to make, it is best to involve those family members that the patient desires. Special consideration should be made for the older male family members since they often make decisions for the group. If appropriate, the health care team should consider allowing patients to add complementary traditional folk medicine to their care plan as the patient or family desires. I don’t have the opportunity to address education issues on nutrition or diabetes since I work at a spine enter, but I can assess an interest in community resources and provide referral information if the patient or family expresses interest. Viewing Hispanic patients through the lens of their culture will provide insight to planning and providing care and thus potentially improve
Understanding …show more content…
Subgroups differ greatly from a biological standpoint, but studies have shown that Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans have a greater genetic predisposition for having Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus due to an increased percentage of Native Indian genetic admixture. There’s also a tendency to overeat due to social pressures and the desire to maintain family relationships. To decline food may be seen as impolite and socially unacceptable. Nutrition education is key because traditional foods tend to be higher in carbohydrates and saturated fats. Since family members are directly involved with managing disease treatment, providers should engage the extended family in the treatment plan for nutrition, and because the family eats together as a group, any change in meal plans result in nutrition improvement for the whole family (Caballero, …show more content…
After reviewing literature sources, there are many changes I want to incorporate into my practice. When meeting with patients, it’s best to have an interpreter available, involve family members in the conversation, and remember that personal space is smaller so it may be appropriate to sit closer or lean in during conversation. The outpatient clinic where I work has a strict policy regarding patients arriving late, so I that it’s important to intervene on behalf of the Hispanic patient when he/she arrives late. When there are care decisions to make, it is best to involve those family members that the patient desires. Special consideration should be made for the older male family members since they often make decisions for the group. If appropriate, the health care team should consider allowing patients to add complementary traditional folk medicine to their care plan as the patient or family desires. I don’t have the opportunity to address education issues on nutrition or diabetes since I work at a spine enter, but I can assess an interest in community resources and provide referral information if the patient or family expresses interest. Viewing Hispanic patients through the lens of their culture will provide insight to planning and providing care and thus potentially improve