Culture Health Beliefs Essay

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Why are Culture Health Beliefs so Important in a
Health Care Setting?

Why are Culture Beliefs so Important in a Health Care Setting?
There are many cultures out in the world today that practice beliefs different than those in the United States. America is based off Western Culture and traditional medicine practices which focus on preventative and curative medicine. Most cultures around the world practice folk medicine, which focus more on the person as a whole with remedies and ceremonies rather than medicine and treatment. Even though each one believes in a different practice, all medical professionals should have the knowledge and awareness of each culture’s health beliefs to properly treat their patients in a respectful and kind …show more content…
They also may believe in witchcraft and voodoo practices which help with getting the evil out of the body. Mullner and Giachello (2011) write that “brujos” or male witches help alleviate illnesses and may ward off dangers on a person by using oils, ointments, religious objects, or herbal treatments.
They also use “curanderos” or folk healers who practice folk medicine. They use rituals and practices to cleanse the body, get rid of negative energy, bad illnesses, and evil spirits. (Mullner and Giachello, 2011) My father once believed that he had skin cancer as a little boy because of a mole he had, so his mother called upon the curandero who lived in their community. He used holy water and different types of oils that were placed on my father and what he remembers is that the healer used a charm that got positioned above his head. Then the curandero started a chant that he repeated over and over again to get rid of the negative disease in the body. My father swears that it worked and the skin cancer went away and he never saw it again (B.Montoya, personal communication, April 19, 2011). If a certain culture believes in a healer then it is important to incorporate it into the healing process in the healthcare setting if a patient is sick or terminally ill. Although religion plays a key aspect in the healing process so does the family. Accommodating them is a step in connecting with the patient because in other cultures the
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