American Hmong's Cultural Practice of Medicine Compared To How the Americans Practice Medicine

A Research on the American Hmong's Cultural Practice of Medicine Compared To How the Americans Practice Medicine
Name
Course
Instructor
Date
Conventional modern western medicine requires integration of technology-based medical approaches with spirituality and cultural beliefs to provide holistic care. However, medical practitioners may not understand how cultural or religious beliefs influence healing among the underserved communities. The Hmong community Americans is one such group that has often been grouped as part of Asian Americans and this generalizations fails to acknowledge the uniqueness that characterize the group. Cultural differences among Hmong patients and Americans may cause mistrust of Western biomedicine and the healthcare system. This is a comparison of American Hmong's Cultural Practice of Medicine with America practice of medicine, focusing on illness, wellness healing and the role of spirituality in healthcare.
Differences in health beliefs are a barrier to improving patient interaction with Hmong Americans, especially when interpreters and providers fail to respect the traditional healing practices (Cobb, 2010). For instance, provider-patient communication makes it easier to understand differences in cultural beliefs. To minimize miscommunication medical practitioners often engage patients in developing education materials but this is more difficult when the physician does not speak the same language as the Hmong Americans. The use of the media and medical interpreters has a positive impact on overcoming language barriers when engaging Hmong patients and their family members (Cobb, 2010). The success of medical intervention for any group is based on understanding and acceptance of the strategies employed while fostering trust.
The Hmong view on health and illness highlight the role of sprits as playing a more important role in determine wellness. There is an element of spirituality where people are seen to be unwell if the souls leave their bodies. As such, they are more likely to result to alternative and complementary medicine. On the other hand, conventional medicine focused on using evidence-based interventions to treating individuals. There is an assumption that patients will comply with conventional medicines, but miscommunication and failure to understand cultural differences may result in low patient compliance among the Hmong Americans. Medical practitioners need to be culturally sensitive for them to be more effective while dealing with Hmong Americans.
A cultural gap may exist between the physicians and the Hmong patients because of differences on the effectiveness of conventional medicine (Allen, Matthew, & Boland, 2004). For instance, Hmong Americans are likely to seek the advice of a shaman for various medicinal conditions before seeking medical attention based on the belief that the spirit and soul cannot be separated from health and healing. Among American physicians and nurses holistic care concerns focusing on different aspects of patient care besides physical health from spiritual emotional, physical to social needs, However, physicians may not necessarily address spiritual concerns among Hmong patient, since the healing process among the Hmong takes time.
The main difference between American medicine and Hmong Medicine is that the Americans fists seek medical advice by visiting hospitals and medical centers and as they are treated by physicians. Hmong Americans may combine shamanism with herbal medicine and the herbalists are greatly respected because of their knowledge (Cha, 2004). The herbalists act similar to pharmacists and are first consulted, but the older generation is more likely to prefer herbalists compared to the younger generation. Shamanists is a religious practice that emanated from China where there is respect for ancestors and worship involving spirits, with rituals or ceremonies being conducted (Cha, 2004). At times animals may be sacrificed to appease the suffering or lost soul, where disease is considered to be an imbalance of the body and the spirit. The Hmong originally inhabited Laos, Thailand and China tend to live near forests where herbalists are more likely to be common.
Another difference of medicinal approaches between the Hmong and Americans is that the Hmong people attach more importance to treating illnesses and less on preventive care (Cha, 2004). On the other hand, Americas focus on both preventive and curative care. The younger Hmong Americans who have stayed in the U.S for longer time are likely to be receptive to preventive care including immunization compared to the recently arrived. Emphasis on curative care compared to preventive care among Hmong Americans may create cross-generational conflicts, highlighting the need to respect the opinions of the elders and cultural differences. Americans also focus on preventive care even when symptoms of a chronic disease have not bee...