Applying a Cultural Assessment Writing Assignment

Applying a Cultural Assessment
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Applying a Cultural Assessment
Select one of the cultural assessment strategies and write a paper to describe how you would assess the psychological, spiritual, physiological, social, environmental, and epidemiological data on a particular cultural group.
The U.S. consists of different ethnocultural groups. A majority of the immigrants are choosing to maintain their cultures as opposed to assimilating into the mainstream culture of the U.S. As a result, nurses are dealing with patients who subscribe to different cultural beliefs. A majority of healthcare professionals are concerned with offering culturally sensitive care to their patients. However, it is a difficult task for nurses and other care providers to become familiar with the cultural dynamics of the different ethnocultural groups. Instead of learning about the multiple cultures in the U.S., nurses can utilize a general approach in undertaking a cultural assessment of each patient. One of the most effective tools for assessing Native Americans is heritage assessment.
Psychological
Native Americans like other ethnic groups have psychological needs. These include the need to be autonomous, competence and relatedness (Schneider & Kwan, 2013). Undertaking a heritage assessment is an effective way of establishing the psychological needs of the group. Nurses should work towards meeting some of the psychological needs of Native American patients. For instance, a heritage assessment would establish the autonomous that the Native Americans would like to exert in the care process. For instance, a heritage assessment would establish how Native American patients want the nurses to respect their religious practices. For instance, where patients practice religious activities like praying, diet and celebrating religious holidays at home, it is essential that the nurses allow them to undertake them. Where the patient eats a special diet, the nurse should be in a position to determine how the specific diets are likely to affect the process of care. Further, the psychological assessment would establish the need for nurses to offer emotional support to the patients.
Spiritual
Assessing the spiritual needs of a Native American begins by asking about their religious preference. Asking about religious preference is the most basic question that nurses need to ask to establish the religious preferences of a client (Lee-Poy, Stewart, Ryan & Brown, 2016). After establishing the religion the client subscribes to, the next step entails determining whether the partner of the client is in the same religion. Where both the patient and the spouse belong to the same religious group, then they are likely to make the same decisions on healthcare. Where they belong to different religious groups, then the nurse needs to consider that the religion of the spouse will determine the way the client approaches healthcare. The other question entails if the client lives in a neighborhood where the neighbors have the same religious background. If that is the case, then the client is likely to make decisions based on religious inclination. It is also critical to establish whether or not a Native American patient belongs to a religious group and if they are an active member. The level of activeness can be determined by asking the patient about how often they attend the religious organization. The Native American patients who belong to a religious institution and they are active members means that they value religion. In such a case, is possible that religion plays a critical role in determining the decisions the Native American patients make regarding healthcare.
Physiological
Physiological needs entail the maintenance of the human body. They include the basic needs that are critical to survival like water, food, sleep and air (Thompson, Kreuter & Boyum, 2016). These needs are critical to individuals because they enable them to survive. Through heritage assessment, nurses can establish how Native Americans identify with their traditional heritage and hence how they satisfy these basic needs. For instance, where the heritage assessment shows that a Native American patient identifies much with her heritage, then there is a need to establish the traditional foods they take. While in the hospital, this can be vital in ensuring that the patient remains comfortable throughout her stay. For a Native American patient who does not identify much with his traditional heritage, then it is possible to for nurses to care for him without necessarily having to follow the cultural heritage of the Native American group.
Social
The heritage assessment strategy mainly seeks to determine a person’s background. As indi...