7.02 Analyze behaviors and their cultural significance Tina Marie Hunt, RN, BSN, HOE

Bias A preference that prevents impartial judgement Barrier to effective communication/relationship with others Examples: Age: Young people are physically & mentally superior to older people Job: Nurses are inferior to doctors

Ethnocentric People who believe in the supremacy of their own ethnic group Believe their cultural values are better than other people. Barrier to effective communication/relationship with others Example: KKK Holy Rollers

Prejudice Pre-judge A strong feeling or belief about a person or subject that is formed without reviewing the facts or information Individuals are usually afraid of things that are different

Prejudice Interferes with interpersonal relationships Everyone is prejudiced to some degree Barrier to effective communication/relationship with others

Stereotyping Occurs when an assumption is made that everyone in a particular group is the same Ignores individual characteristics Labels an individual

Stereotyping Barrier to effective communication/relationship with others Example: All blondes are dumb Asians are smarter than Americans

Holistic care Definition: Care for the well-being of the whole person. Social Mental Physical Emotional

Family organization Nuclear Extended

Family organization Patriarchal Matriarchal

Family organization Health care implications - where we live or who we live with affects our health care. Structure must be respected. Determines who will provide care for other sick members and take part in tx plan Determines who will decide medical care decisions

Language U.S. Dominant language is ENGLISH 20% of U.S. population speaks a language other than English at home. HCP must ask questions to determine the pt’s ability to communicate. When possible, find a translator.

Techniques for non-English speaking patients Speak slowly and use simple words Use gestures or pictures Use non-verbal – smile and touch DON’T speak louder Learn a few essential words and phrases

Personal space and touch people from Various cultures often react to person space and touch differently Keep in mind that not everyone from a specific culture or ethnic groups responds in exactly the same way.

Personal space and touch the distance people need to feel comfortable when interacting. Gender – cultural values will play a role in the gender of clients

Personal space and touch Close contact – comfortable standing very close to & even touching the person with whom they are interacting. distant contact – maintain their personal space and may not like to be touched.

Personal space and touch Arabs – touch, smell, & feel with whom they interact (close) French and Latin Americans – stand close while talking (close) Hispanic Americans – hugs & handshakes (close) European and African Americans – (distant) 2-6 ft apart, shake hands as greeting

Personal space and touch Asian Americans – stand close, do not touch, reserve kissing and hugging for intimate relationships (distant) Cambodia – never touch in public, only parent can touch head of child (distant) Vietnamese – allow only head of child to be touched by elders – head is considered sacred (distant)

Personal space and touch Middle Eastern countries – only men shake hands with men, men do not touch females who are not immediate family members, may refuse health care due to sex of provider (distant) Native Americans -feel personal space is important but will touch lightly another person’s hand in greeting (distant)

Eye contact Varies among culture understand that when someone from another culture does not maintain eye contact, it could be for cultural reasons.

Eye contact European Americans Maintaining eye contact sign of interest and trustworthiness

Eye contact Some Asian Americans consider direct eye contact to be rude. Native Americans – use peripheral vision and avoid direct eye contact, may regard direct stares as hostile and threatening

Eye contact Hispanic and African American – may use brief eye contact but then look away to indicate respect and attentiveness Muslim women avoid eye contact as a sign of modesty India – people of different socioeconomic classes may avoid eye contact with each other

Gestures Hand gestures mean different things in different countries Health care workers must be sensitive when using hand gestures

Gestures Examples : U.S. nodding head up and down is “yes” and back and forth is “no.” In India, it’s the exact opposite. In U.S. pointing is OK Many Asians and Native Americans could represent this as a strong threat Hand gesture for OK in U.S. can be insulting to some Asians