Chong family moved from China (Sichuan province) to the US (New York, NY) in 2017. The family consists of parents, two children aged nine and 15, and a grandmother. The reason for such relocation is career opportunities offered to the father. In particular, a large corporation is working for provided promotion in the US for the position of a chief manager that requires managing people and introducing Chinese technologies as a joint production of common products. The key problem is associated with the fact that none of these family members is familiar with the US context, traditions, values, and other issues that should be taken into account while living in another country. Also, they encounter difficulties and misunderstandings in receiving adequate health care services. At the same time, the Chong family prefers to preserve their Chinese culture.
To address the identified issue, it seems essential to apply social cognitive theory (SCT) theory elaborated by Bandura, who considered that human behavior might be explained in terms of environmental factors, personality traits, and the very process of behavior interaction (“Social and behavioral theories,” n.d.). Since the given family encounters cultural and adaptation difficulties, SCT seems to promote greater cooperation with a counselor as well as enhanced understanding. In particular, the environment in the above theory influences the personality to the same extent that a person affects the environment, creating mutual formation. Such continuous interaction leads to a certain balance between freedom and determinism in SCT (“Social and behavioral theories,” n.d.). Human behavior, according to the social cognitive theory, is, for the most part, absorbed by mastering patterns of behavior.
Among the suggested goals, it is possible to pinpoint achieving a greater understanding of the US context, existing treatment options, and potential challenges, identifying the required health services and discussing their application, as well as determining the anticipated treatment outcomes. As reckoned by Spector (2017), cultural diversity should be taken into account in a variety of forms, through which groups and societies find the expression that can be transmitted between them. Cultural targeting should be utilized in this case to align collectivism and individualism, thus making closer different values and symbols. The goals should be approved both by the family members and a counselor. Being based on SCT and cultural diversity assumptions, the identified goals seem to address this family’s problem.
Speaking of the intervention, shared decision making (SDM) may be applied to this family to increase their awareness of diversity and more concise perception of the local context (Alden, Friend, Schapira, & Stiggelbout, 2014). In other words, treatment planning should be based on SDM and will presumably involve the following aspects: initial group consultation with a care provider, individual meetings with every family member, and the final planning consultation to reveal and align key needs and expectations of the family. Alden et al. (2014) state that it is of great importance to understand the extent to which cultural values affect the family decisions and use them as a decision aid content. Along with cultural targeting, tailoring techniques may be beneficial for the given family to analyze cultural mindsets and develop long-term cooperation between caregivers and family members. In general, it seems essential to built proper relationships and communication between the mentioned parties since both the context and personal traits should be thoroughly collected and interpreted to achieve the stated goals.
References
Alden, D. L., Friend, J., Schapira, M., & Stiggelbout, A. (2014). Cultural targeting and tailoring of shared decision making technology: A theoretical framework for improving the effectiveness of patient decision aids in culturally diverse groups. Social Science & Medicine, 105, 1-8.
Social and behavioral theories. (n.d.). Web.
Spector, R. E. (2017). Cultural diversity in health and illness (9th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Education.