Cultural Barriers within Healthcare essays

Cultural Barriers within Healthcare essays According to Health Resources Services Administration, sixty-five to seventy-five percent of all patients seen in a non-profit healthcare clinic live below the poverty level. Providing effective health care to low income families requires an understanding of the potential cultural barriers, which may be faced. These barriers include social, language, religion, and technological issues. The majority of our patients from foreign cultures are Hispanic or Asian. Due to this fact, we will discuss the barriers of dealing with those from Hispanic and Asian Cultures, and offer possible solutions to overcome these obstacles effectively. The number of immigrants entering the United States has been rapidly increasing over the last few years. For instance, the number of Asians in the United States has grown to more than 9 million in 1996. In 1996, there were over 28 million Hispanics in the United States, and the numbers are only increasing. The rapid growth of these two cultures in United States has made overcoming cultural barriers crucial in managing a non-profit healthcare clinic. A predominate social barrier in dealing with those from the Asian culture is their reluctance to disclose personal information to anyone outside of their family. Due to this, they may not be honest and forth coming in giving physicians or other medical staff personal or critical information needed for their treatment. When it comes to healthcare for Asian women, they do not seek out medical care for Gynecological exams because they feel it is an invasion of their body and considered improper and very humiliating for the women. Differences between Asian culture and the American culture are the majority of health issues of Asians are not often addressed in the American health care system. However, the Asian culture is not the only culture that is facing social and economic barriers to healthcare. With the numbers of immigrants increasing, what can we...