The main reason for choosing the African American population for this work is because of its unique array of cultural backgrounds. African American communities across the United States are more culturally diverse now than any other time in history with increasing numbers of immigrants from African nations, the Caribbean, Central America and other countries (American Psychiatric Association, 2014). The United States is among the most ethnically diverse nations on the planet (Peterson, K., 2008). With the demographics of the United States constantly changing and as ethnic cultural diversity emerges heightening of culturally competent care is at hand. All cultures have systems of health belief to explain what cause illness, how it can be …show more content…
The purpose of this paper is to explain the need to enhance culturally competent care given by nurse practitioners in a primary care setting and importance of understanding cultural beliefs within the African American community. This paper will examine the application of Kurt Lewin’s change theory to fine-tuning culturally competent care by nurse practitioners in managing mental illness in the African American community. It will explain how the change model has been used in nursing and then, how it can be used in embracing cultural beliefs to enhance education and communication to deliver quality care for mental illnesses. Depression has affected millions of Americans despite race, ethnic background and culture. It is one of the top reasons for suicide in the U.S. Most often it can be misdiagnosed or not properly treated among African Americans. Consequently, many African Americans will not seek care as; admitting to depression is considered a sign of weakness. The African American population is a diverse group of people who have strong beliefs in family, church and community. Their view of good health is considered a blessing; on the other hand, those who suffer from poor health will often wonder if it’s because of how they lived their lives. In addition the older generation is more spiritually grounded and will feel blessed in spite of poor health. On the other hand, older generations presumed some mental illnesses were often
Statistics state that mental illness is estimated to be higher in blacks than in whites. One of the contributing factors to why blacks aren’t being cared for when they have a mental illness is because of the stigma that mental illness doesn’t exist within the community. According to Plowden (2006), “ African American men often differ in their presentation of depression and are often misdiagnosed. African American men are at greater risk for depression, but they are less likely to participate in mental health care.” This is due to the
Music is a creative art form that allows the artist to construct something that expresses a purpose. It evolves over time and changes as the world changes, taking on many different motivations behind the melody and lyrics. In today’s society, anger, oppression, racism, and negative opinions rule the media and popular culture. I believe that African Americans need to show their self worth and not let white people hold them back. With the music in white culture often mocking African American culture and portraying negative stereotypes, African Americans have to find ways to gain respect. In acknowledgement of the negative portrayal of their culture, African Americans respond by creating songs and videos that express their pride in their culture and heritage, react to white oppression, and communicate their independence.
In order to provide culturally appropriate care, an examination of one's personal views, beliefs, and prejudices must be examined. The first portion of this paper will examine my personal values, beliefs, biases, and prejudices. The remaining paper will analyze the African American culture relating to the Ginger and Davidhizar's Transcultural Assessment Model cited in Hood (2010). This model uses six key cultural elements that include communication, space, social organization, time, environment, and biological variations. This model provides a systematic approach for assessing culturally diverse clients. I will also discuss an aspect of care that I would
The African American Culture and Traditions A Research Study and Facts That Will Take Us Into What Makes This Culture So Unique.
In looking on the subject of race you realize there is a racial stigma when it comes to health care. The American health care system is geared to treat the majority, while the minority suffers. As one looks at the African American society we see the racial discrimination in the health care system. According to the American heart association, “African Americans are 28% more likely
When experiencing a mental illness, African Americans face obstacles “related to understanding the problem or situation and limitation in awareness of possible solutions, strategies remedies and resources” (Hines-Martin, Malone, Kim, & Brown-Piper, 2003). In a study by Hines-Martin (2003), participants verbalized that they did not think they were “crazy” and therefore did not need mental health services. In this instance participants showed a lack of knowledge about what mental health illness looks like. They identified mental illness as dichotomous states (Hines-Martin et al., 2003). A study by Mental Health America found similar results. In this study, a majority of African Americans surveyed believed that depression was a “health problem” and in some cases “normal” (MHA, 2012). Talking about mental illness is taboo for African Americans, and as a result they possess little knowledge about specific mental health problems or available treatments (Alvidrez et al., 2008). For African Americans, stigma serves as an impediment to problem recognition. Because they have a misconstrued idea of what mental illness is, they are less likely to contemplate that they have such problems. Alvidrez (2008) found that stigma prevented 65% of their survey respondents from contemplating that they had such problems. Because many African Americans are uninformed about what mental illness is and how it
The black community has its own opinion about how effect mental heath services could be. The most apparent opinion is how African Americans feel that using mental health services is something that is stigmatized to be not useful. There’s been plenty of occasions by which African Americans don’t seek the guidance because of their assumptions on the effectiveness of these interventions. In order to understand this better, Cauce has a three step model that includes problem definition, the decision to seek help, and the selection of a treatment service or service provider. This is called the help seeking pathway because it helps us understand the culture and context of the process to seek help. This process could happen in any order because
KC is a public charter school located in Kennesaw, GA that employees approximately 62 full time teachers for 870 students. The grade levels range from K-4, which gives the school, a significantly lower than national average, teacher-student ratio of 14:1. The school has a good balance in male versus female attendance with male attendance at 49% and females at 51%.
The African American community has sat at the end of a discriminatory lens from the moment they set foot in the United States. For that reason, black communities have undergone the process of community building to ensure that all members feel a sense of belonging.
Indicates that Caucasian have a higher percentage when it comes to the popularity of diverse culture in Brooklyn New York which is approximately 50% according to the pie chart here but unfortunately the least population next to them would be African American which is approximately 24% the least percentage with the lowest ranking is anyone who is considered to be another nationality. Each color represents the number of people who reside in Brooklyn New York. In figure2 it shows how culture is adaptive to our everyday lives such as language is dynamic and changes over time, however it is found to be a profound influence on how we think about and act toward people by giving a sense of belonging to a group. Whereas can be used also as spark of
The graduate may encounter several issues unless he/she is well prepared and have studied the country’s culture. As the graduate arrives to Asia he/she will discover the difference in the language. Not everyone will speak the English language, as well as written words and or a map. The graduate wll encounter people staring and pointing, because he/ she will look different; will receive attention from the public (Rodgers).
This particular article explores how “social, cultural, and historical roots” influence how African-Americans use “self-care practices” to manage chronic illnesses. These three influences mentioned shapes how a certain cultural group views the idea of self-care. The authors illustrate that the idea of self-care is more than just one’s commitment to lead a healthier lifestyle. In fact, the examination of how one defines self-care is presents a more complex task. It is well documented that African-Americans have had and continue to have traumatic experiences that stem from this country’s shameful history concerning slavery. Although slavery was abolished, the authors suggest that the apparent systemic racism and oppression of African-Americans also continues to shape how this particular group of people develop self-care practices. For example, the authors’ highlight the significance of a church’s role in the African-American culture as a method of “survival and advancement.” They asserted that the church’s role was strengthened because it provided social services and temporary protection from racial discrimination. From a Health Sciences perspective, this exploration of self-care practices is vital because it further emphasizes that social and cultural determinants influence the health outcomes and the very concept of a community’s definition of self-care. Therefore, acknowledgement of these factors is important because a health professional will be unable to assist the public if he/she
Training in cultural diversity is an important skill to obtain in the health care field. Cultural competence is required of nurses to assist patients in achieving greater health and well-being. This envelops an understanding of the diverse nature of cultures existing in the United States. In providing culturally competent care, nurses must understand a patient’s values and beliefs to create an individualized care plan that meets the patient’s own individual needs. One racial group within the United States we will be examining in particular with this workshop is Black Americans. This group will encompass those who identify is African American, Blacks who do not identify as African Americans, as well as those Black individuals from other countries
African Americans brought over a distinctive culture into America from Africa. The Africans can create many different sounds that we never knew about. They revived the way we held church and worship, and brought joy to many citizens. African Americans enslaved by the South created a truly magnificent culture in slavery using new music, oral traditions, and religious ideas.
For many years, the impact of racial oppression has left denial, and resistance for African Americans towards healthcare services and preventions of treatment plans. Many surveys have been conducted, and can be found online to bring awareness to some of the reasons as to why African Americans are “lacking”, when it comes to seeking services about illnesses they may face. African Americans have had a considerably high disadvantage in getting access to resources other groups receive. Senior African Americans have encountered a perplexing recurrence of aggravating occasions than numerous racial populations. Almost no one has been concentrated to investigate how this populace conquers troubling occasions in America. The history of African Americans receiving abuse in various form is often overlooked, resulting in a continuation of digression.