Barriers faced by Hispanics to obtain optimal health
Low health literacy is the inability to read, comprehend, and interpret health related data. The tendency to interpret symptoms without obtaining the medical diagnosis or exam may be related to low health literacy, which affects nearly 62% of Hispanics (Coffman, Norton, and Beene, 2011). Low health literacy is associated with inadequate diabetes knowledge, low glycemic control, and increase diabetes complications (Coffman, Norton, and Beene, 2011). The need for Spanish literacy materials for Hispanic diabetics is crucial to their health. Immigrants from Mexico usually have an elementary school education, but many come to America seeking a better life with the willingness to learn (Montgomery …show more content…
Lake Health is the chosen institution for a cultural competence review because Lake Health serves Lake County, Ohio residents in their healthcare needs. This organization has one mandatory class at the beginning of orientation to the hospital, but no further education relating to cultural competency for their employees. Lake Health has a vast amount of Hispanics come to Labor and Delivery to have their babies and many do not speak English. Much of the cultural customs nurses have learned on the job.Cultural competence is not formed through words, but through knowledge. Then, using that knowledge through cultural encounters to improve quality of care (Wilson, …show more content…
For the nurses who are not culturally competent, forgetting the involvement, or ignoring the idea of family involvement can become a negative factor for health promotion and wellness. Those nurses may become annoyed with the families because they do not understand the traditional needed support of the Hispanic culture. Nurses need to become culturally competent to understand the Hispanic culture and to realize what interventions may be effective within their culture.
While Lake Health does have areas of cultural competency to work on, there are some valuable areas of cultural competence. The CLAS standard of communication and language assistance is achieved at Lake Health (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, 2014) . Using the language translator line as a translation device helps us communicate with the patient faster than ever before. There was a 108% increase in the utilization of the interpreter services from 2011 to 2012 in Lake County, with the most frequent language requested being Spanish (Lake County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board, 2014). According to Pérez and Luquis, (2014) being cognizant of a language preference is a strategy to use for effective cultural
Low health literacy is the inability to read, comprehend, and interpret health related data. The tendency to interpret symptoms without obtaining the medical diagnosis or exam may be related to low health literacy, which affects nearly 62% of Hispanics (Coffman, Norton, and Beene, 2011). Low health literacy is associated with inadequate diabetes knowledge, low glycemic control, and increase diabetes complications (Coffman, Norton, and Beene, 2011). The need for Spanish literacy materials for Hispanic diabetics is crucial to their health. Immigrants from Mexico usually have an elementary school education, but many come to America seeking a better life with the willingness to learn (Montgomery …show more content…
Lake Health is the chosen institution for a cultural competence review because Lake Health serves Lake County, Ohio residents in their healthcare needs. This organization has one mandatory class at the beginning of orientation to the hospital, but no further education relating to cultural competency for their employees. Lake Health has a vast amount of Hispanics come to Labor and Delivery to have their babies and many do not speak English. Much of the cultural customs nurses have learned on the job.Cultural competence is not formed through words, but through knowledge. Then, using that knowledge through cultural encounters to improve quality of care (Wilson, …show more content…
For the nurses who are not culturally competent, forgetting the involvement, or ignoring the idea of family involvement can become a negative factor for health promotion and wellness. Those nurses may become annoyed with the families because they do not understand the traditional needed support of the Hispanic culture. Nurses need to become culturally competent to understand the Hispanic culture and to realize what interventions may be effective within their culture.
While Lake Health does have areas of cultural competency to work on, there are some valuable areas of cultural competence. The CLAS standard of communication and language assistance is achieved at Lake Health (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, 2014) . Using the language translator line as a translation device helps us communicate with the patient faster than ever before. There was a 108% increase in the utilization of the interpreter services from 2011 to 2012 in Lake County, with the most frequent language requested being Spanish (Lake County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board, 2014). According to Pérez and Luquis, (2014) being cognizant of a language preference is a strategy to use for effective cultural