Introduction
It is hard to disagree that people from varied cultures might have different mindsets, which requires them to make a greater effort to understand and respect each other’s needs and values. In her 1997 book, The Spirit Catches You, and You Fall, Anne Fadiman explores how a lack of empathy and cultural awareness prevented a Hmong refugee family and local U.S. doctors from establishing effective collaboration.
Lia Lee is a small child suffering from epilepsy. Still, her Hmong parents do not trust Western medicine, cannot speak English, and fail to correspond with medical recommendations to treat their daughter. This book gives a great understanding of how a care coordinator should interact with families to be more culturally responsive at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.
Interactions with the Medical System: Cultural Responsiveness at the Micro, Mezzo, and Macro Levels
Overall, several factors play a great role in the interaction between social or medical workers and their clients from different cultures. As a care coordinator working with Lia’s family, I would first study all the relevant beliefs and traditions they used to treat their daughter. This will especially help me at the micro and mezzo levels. In other words, it would be my primary goal to understand what they thought about Lia’s soul and disease, what rituals, as for her parents, helped her feel better, and which standard medical operations they considered inappropriate.
In the book, some characters, including Jeanine Hilt, become interested in the Hmong culture and religious rituals, which increases their empathy and sympathy toward the family and Lia in particular (Fadiman, 1997). Unfortunately, others are not eager to raise their awareness, while this approach would help doctors and nurses explain the treatment requirements more efficiently (Fadiman, 1997). For instance, Lia’s parents would not worry that much if they had learned earlier about the body replacing the taken blood. This need for professionals to be more aware is also highlighted by researchers. According to Diller (2018), this information reduces the cultural gap between the social worker or care coordinator and the family with a different mindset.
I would be more responsive and trusted at the micro level, providing care to this particular family and the mezzo level, offering more informed and culturally oriented support within small communities of local Hmong people.
Another strategy I would select is also mentioned in the book by Fadiman. I believe it is helpful at all three levels of social work, especially at the macro level. The author states that some doctors and researchers of the Hmong culture referred to the help of these needs or shamans (Fadiman, 1997). Collaborating with such respectful and authoritative figures would strengthen my image and make more representatives of this cultural group trust my qualifications and adhere to the medical recommendations.
Additionally, it would yet again acquaint me with local beliefs and religious views through communicating with people, as Kasouaher et al. (2021) recommend. This would possibly result in me finding ways to integrate Hmong rituals into the medical practice, and I will be able to affect the medical practice at the macro level.
Therefore, my strategy would be beneficial at all three levels. I would be more culturally responsive to the needs of the Lees and other families, allowing them to perform harmless rituals. In contrast, other providers care for their relatives. As indicated by Berger and Miller (2021), involving such families in the treatment process increases and strengthens mutual trust. As for the macro level, my knowledge and collaboration with tvix neebs would increase other medical and social workers’ awareness and make them more responsive to the needs and peculiarities of the Hmong community.
Conclusion
To conclude, there are many ways social and healthcare workers can get more culturally aware, and the primary components are their sincere desire and empathy. As a care coordinator for Lia’s family, I would learn about Hmong rituals and beliefs, especially relating to health, medicine, and soul. This would help me at the mezzo and micro levels, as local people would trust my recommendations, and I would be more aware of the best ways to persuade and educate them. Further, I would collaborate with shamans to improve my cultural responsiveness at all three levels.
References
Berger, J. T., & Miller, D. R. (2021). Health disparities, systemic racism, and failures of cultural competence. The American Journal of Bioethics, 21(9), 4-10. Web.
Diller, J. V. (2018). Cultural diversity: A primer for the human services (6th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Fadiman, A. (1997). The spirit catches you and you fall down. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Kasouaher, M., Shore, N., Culhane-Pera, K., Pergament, S., Batres, R., Reyes, P. C., Isaacs, M. L., & Richmond, A. (2021). Strategies to enhance culturally responsive research: Community research recommendation tool. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 15(3), 413-418. Web.
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