Introduction
The promotion of health care for different populations is a significant topic for discussion. Many factors may influence the burden of diseases, and demographic forces, including migration, cannot be ignored (Silva-Sadder, 2013; Skolnik, 2016). A variety of cultural values should not predetermine the quality of healthcare services, and there are two cases that help to clarify the importance of cross-cultural healthcare.
Things for Learning
After reading the cases, several interesting aspects were identified as a portion of new information with a deeper context. They include the need for medical interpretations, a collaboration between colleagues, and the application of alternative medicine. Each lesson can improve the skills of nurses, leaders, and other medical staff.
Medical Interpretations
Many patients with different cultural backgrounds and knowledge may address the same hospital. Though it is not always possible to be ready for the influx of migrants, medical leaders should have backup plans to interpret medical treatments and promote examinations in the right way. The impact of such interpretations may vary regarding the nature of a disease.
Collaboration
The case of Diane Mathis shows that quick steps and rational decision making are not always effective. Though the leader makes the provision of health care to all Somali patients in the hospital possible, she fails to promote effective communication between the medical workers (“Diane Mathis Case,” 2009). The result of this shortage is the inability to cope with mass immigration issues.
Alternative Medicine
A cultural variety of patients may lead to different outcomes. One of them is the choice of alternative medicine without an appropriate medical consultation (“Alejandro Flores Case,” 2009). Instead of taking immediate steps in treating a patient, families find it normal to rely on their cultural values, traditions, and personal interpretations of their physical conditions.
Things for Practical Application
The two important lessons were taken from the offered case studies. Employee organizational initiative and communication with the representatives of different cultures are the effective steps that can be taken by medical workers. Such solutions turn out to be a good chance for hospitals to avoid unpredictable and hard-to-control situations in emergency departments.
Organizational Initiative
Not many employees find it necessary to talk to each other and discuss the existing problems. Today, the generational status of health is not stable, and health workers should contribute to an understanding of a health concept between patients and the medical staff (Durazo & Wallace, 2014). Instead of following the rules and meeting the standards, medical workers should develop their skills, discuss their concerns, and make decisions to support both their patients and other colleagues.
Communication with Communities
Due to fast and unplanned migration, not all people are able to accept the health standards of new countries. The health consequences of migration depend on how well a host country is prepared for new people in terms of social communication, economics, and legal issues (Schenker & Riden, 2014). Not all people are ready to pose questions and ask for help, and medical workers should support all migrants, educate them, and discuss all available options.
The thing for Additional Thinking
The only thing that may cause some doubts is the role of alternative medicine. The point is that migrants are not the only groups of people who prefer to choose alternative medicine instead of ordinary treatment. However, as a rule, only the representatives of other countries are accused of their wrong choices or misinterpretation of the existing healthcare standards. When a native citizen prefers to use CAM, it is defined as a freedom of choice, and when migrants prefer their family treatment to local medicine, a number of questions appear.
Conclusion
In general, the discussion of cross-cultural health care may be developed in different directions. Sometimes, positive results are observed. Still, the presence of negative outcomes and the inability to deal with mass migrant issues, and the obligation to be fair to every patient despite their race, language, and native country challenge millions of hospitals today.
References
Alejandro Flores Case. (2009). Web.
Diane Mathis Case. (2009). Web.
Durazo, E.M., & Wallace, S.P. (2014). Access to health care across generational status for Mexican-origin immigrants in California. The Journal of Field Actions, 10. Web.
Schenker, M.B., & Riden, H.E. (2014). Facts special issue on migration and health: Introduction. The Journal of Field Actions, 10. Web.
Silva-Sadder, A. (Submitter). (2013).In the studio – Cultural change and impacts of migration on health [Video file]. Web.
Skolnik, R. (2016). Global health 101 (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.