Cultural Competence in Refugee Health Care Lance A. Rasbridge, PhD Coordinator, Refugee Outreach Program Parkland Hospital Lance.Rasbridge@phhs.org
Culture • Definition- “complex whole…” • Individuals are part of many different cultures • Influences an individual’s health beliefs, practices, behaviors, and even outcomes of medical treatments
Competence • Acknowledgement of the importance of culture • Knowledge is not encyclopedic • Ongoing, not static • Based on the fundamental of cultural relativism
Why is Cultural Competence in Health Care Important? • Reduce barriers to access • Improve adherence to treatment • Improve health outcomes • Eliminate health disparities • Ethics- Patient-centered care
Caveats • Diversity within all cultures, be careful of stereotyping • Culture is dynamic, especially in the process of acculturation • Be prepared to negotiate or suggest alternatives to undesirable practices
Southeast Asian Refugees • Cambodians • Laotians • Vietnamese • Hmong, Montagnards • Burmese ethnic minorities • (Bhutanese)
Southeast Asian Medical Beliefs and Practices- Etiology 1. Spiritual- Buddhist, folk 2. Natural- balance, humours, yin/yang 3. Western- biomedical
Buddhism
• Symbols
“Thanakaa”
• Betel nut
• Nutrition
Coining
Cupping
Pinching
Traditional medicines
Chinese medicine
Postpartum practices
Biomedical setting
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