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talking with their healthcare providers and believe what they say.
Confianza
means that the provider will have their best interests at heart. Patient
confianza
in the provider is central for identifying and treating health concerns and
encouraging patient adherence to recommended treatment.
• Espiritu (spirit):
body, and mind: Healthcare professionals often work within the
structures of mainstream medicine, which provides separate physical and mental
health care. Hispanic/Latino culture, on the other hand, tends to view health from
a more synergistic point of view. This view is expressed as the continuum of
body, mind, and
espiritu
(spirit).
African Americans
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Core elements of African American culture include self-identity, knowledge, emotions, and
behavior.
• Self-Identity:
By definition, African Americans are group members. The identity
of each individual is inseparably tied to that of the group. The self is considered
an “extended self” that is validated only by its functioning in relationship and in
harmony with the collective whole.
• Knowledge:
The nature of knowledge for African Americans includes both
what is known through the senses and in an extrasensory fashion. The world
is seen from an optimal perspective in which all things can exist in harmony.
Life experiences are given depth and meaning through the realization of their
interrelatedness and significance in the life and existence of the group.
• Emotions:
African Americans are a highly expressive people. Because of their
sense of oneness with life and of harmony with nature, they respond naturally
and spontaneously to experiences. Versatility and flexibility are two of their most
positive assets. These two attributes have contributed greatly to their ability to
adjust and adapt to the many pernicious experiences they have had to face.
• Behavior:
African Americans socialize and become socialized through a process
by which the group picks up “modes, sequences, and styles of behavior” through
day-to-day encounters rather than through explicit modes of conditioning. African
American culture is passed on by family members and friends to children through
an unarticulated conditioning process that includes habitual forms of behavior
and ingrained patterns of action.
Health Literacy
Compounding the issue of often inappropriately held beliefs by minority patients is the
legitimate uncertainty arising from limited “health literacy” prevalent in minority populations.
Health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process,
and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health
decisions. Health literacy is not simply the ability to read. It requires a complex group of
reading, listening, analytical, and decision-making skills, and the ability to apply these skills to
health situations. For example, it includes the ability to understand instructions on prescription
drug bottles, appointment slips, medical education brochures, doctor’s directions and consent
forms, and the ability to negotiate complex healthcare systems. For people from different