Case Summary
Promoting and fostering equity in healthcare is among the primary concerns of today’s healthcare professionals. For this project, the video Think Cultural Health Case Study: Cultural and Religious Beliefs was chosen for analysis (Think Cultural Health, 2019). The video depicts the cultural and religious healthcare inequity. In this case, a patient is a Muslim woman refusing to take off her hijab in the presence of another man due to her beliefs. The doctor, however, does not empathize with the patient’s concerns, demonstrating poor ethical conduct and a lack of professionalism.
Cultural Standard Violations
As a representative of a healthcare organization, the doctor directly violated the principal CLAS standard, stating that health care organizations must be “responsive to diverse cultural health beliefs and practices” of their patients (National CLAS standards, n. d.). Moreover, the doctor violated Standard 3 of the “Governance, Leadership and Workforce” section, promoting and supporting a “workforce that is responsive to the population in the service area” by refusing to provide a female doctor (National CLAS standards, n.d.). In the chosen example, following these standards would greatly increase the patient’s experience and enhance their trust in the healthcare institution.
Future Incident Prevention
First, proper cultural sensitivity training for all personnel would mitigate the possibility of a similar accident. Second, allowing patients to choose between male and female doctors would elevate patients’ comfort and promote cultural and gender diversity in the organization. If faced with a similar situation in my professional practice, I would prioritize the patient’s comfort and ensure no conflict is likely to arise.
The CLAS standards present a detailed framework that can be adapted to different practical contexts. Enhancing my cultural sensitivity based on the standards would help me recognize situations where a search for alternative or specifically catered approaches would improve health outcomes and reduce health inequities in my professional practice. Developing culturally and linguistically relevant health care practices and approaches would make access to services easier and enhance patients’ experience.
References
National CLAS standards. (n. d.). Think Cultural Health. Web.
Think Cultural Health. (2019). Think cultural health case study: Cultural and religious beliefs [Video]. YouTube. Web.