Cultural Heritage and Health Essay

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Based on the responses I gave to the questions in the heritage assessment tool, the number of positive responses is high, and this means that I am attached to my traditional heritage. For example, I prefer to speak my native language, I take part in ethnic activities, I prepare foods from my ethnic background, and most of my friends are from the same religious background as me. Also, my grandparents were born in the United States as were my parents and most of my aunts and uncles live near our family home (Spector 2008, pp.365).

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The common health traditions in my culture include the development of the right frame of mind whenever one feels sick, the seeking of divine help, and the seeking the help of a health professional. On the issue of the development of the right frame of mind, there is a strong belief that trying to convince oneself that there is nothing wrong with the body even in the presence of pain will eventually make the body deal with the pain thus healing the person. The belief behind this is that pain has to be accepted by the mind for it to become part of the body and therefore affect us. Thus once the mind has not accepted the pain the body will reject it too, and the person will feel healthy. I am still not sure whether this concept works. But since it is still being practiced, it seems that there is some truth to its principles.

In my interview of three families from different cultures, I chose to interview an Asian family from India living in Kansas, a white American family from California, and a family from Tibet in Michigan. My interview focused on the three main areas of health maintenance, health protection, and health restoration. Below is a discussion of how their responses. Some elements were similar while others were different.

The Indian family has a strong belief in divine power in the maintenance of health. According to this family, the foods that humans eat as well as the other things people do as a way of maintaining health are not as important as divine power. The only activity other than prayer that this family recognizes is a special form of exercise called yoga; which according to them enhances the ability of the mind to experience the touch of divine power. If the body succumbs to disease, asking the divine for healing is vital. Areas, where mistakes may have been made and therefore angered the divine power leading to punishment through disease, are carefully identified and rectified. Rectification is a sure way of restoration. But the modern advances in medicine have had their toll on the family in that they have begun making use of modern medicine in the restoration of health. This is however utilized as a last resort.

The white American family maintains health through keeping fit, eating the right foods, and seeking medical attention whenever there is a health concern. This family also believes that God has a hand in all that man does and therefore is responsible for the actual healing that takes place whenever people fall sick. Protection of health for this family is about proper nutrition and adequate exercise. Restoration is mainly through medicine and divine intervention (Winkelman 2008, pp.45-46).In support of modern medicine, this family believes that God has enabled man to make all these wonderful inventions so that they can improve human life.

The Tibetan family has been in the United States for thirty-nine years but it is amazing how the faith and beliefs they came with from Tibet have remained unchanged. The family believes that health is maintained through a strong adherence to the divine principles of a higher power. The role of good food and exercise in maintaining robust health is secondary. This family also believes that good health is protected through unfailing allegiance to the divine. If the body gets attacked by an illness, the first line of restoration is prayer. Areas of perceived misbehavior that may have displeased the divine are corrected and health is restored.

From the above, it is clear that there are differences in how these three families dealing with health issues with two of them heavily relying on divine intervention. There is however a similarity too whereby all the three families have a belief in divine power as a player in the maintenance, protection, and restoration of health.

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My family believes in a combination of divine power and modern medicine as a source of healing and once a health problem has been identified, a prayer is said as the sick person is taken to a doctor. The other crucial practices that are evident in my family include the observation of sound nutrition principles and exercise. This is similar to what is practiced by one of the families in my interview as reported elsewhere in this essay.

My professional heritage is not any different from my family beliefs. The only difference is that as a nurse, I have to ensure that every patient under my care is given the best possible medical attention. I recognize this as important at a professional level even though my heart has a soft spot for God in all matters of life.

In conclusion, my heritage assessment results are a testimony that I am connected to my traditional heritage. The interviews carried out on the three different families display similarities in the belief in the divine. The other elements are different with the two families putting heavy reliance on divine power. My own family has a strong belief in God but this does not prevent them from seeking medical attention when a problem arises. My professional heritage as a nurse requires me to ensure that the patients under my care are given the best possible medical attention.

References

Spector, R. (2008). Cultural Diversity in Health & Illness (7th ed.).New York: Prentice-Hall.

Winkelman, M. (2008). Culture and Health: Applying Medical Anthropology (1st ed.).New York: Jossey-Bass.

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