2.1.2: Diversity and Culture

Culture

Culture is a set of behaviors, beliefs, values, attitudes, and goals shared by a group of people. Our culture is a powerful part of what makes us who we are and how we live. Groups of people such as families, friends, religious groups, and organizations all share a culture. Rules in a culture can be expressed by spoken and unspoken ways, such as whether direct eye contact or shaking of hands is considered to be appropriate. Many characteristics make up cultures and most people belong to numerous cultures. Race, spiritual/religious beliefs, national origin (the country the person comes from), sexual orientation, and age make up various cultures. People often identify themselves or define who they are based on their cultures.It is important to remember that we often belong to a number of cultures, and one aspect of our culture does not solely define us. It is also important to remember that one culture is not better than another. Health care workers need to try to understand what cultures a patient belongs to and what customs within those cultures the person believes or practices. This helps them to better understand where their patient is coming from and to better take care of them.

Race versus Culture

Race is not the same as culture. Race is a classification of people based on physical attributes, geographic ancestry (where a person came from originally), and inherited characteristics. In the United States, for example, some races are: White American, African American, Native American and Alaska Native, Asian American, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Some people may identify as being multi–racial, meaning they have more than one race. We often identify ourselves as being a part of a particular race, but this is not the only aspect of who we are. It is important to be careful to not judge people by their race, or what you think their race is. This is called racism. Racism is a belief that one racial group is better than another racial group, or that one member of a race is the same as all other members of that race. Racism results in prejudice against a particular race.

Ethnocentrism, Diversity, & Stereotypes

In working with others, we must be careful of ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is thinking that your culture and beliefs are superior to, or better than another person’s. All of our cultures are equally important. No one culture is better than another. The various cultures bring diversity to our world. Diversity means including and respecting different types of cultures. We must also be careful of stereotypes. Stereotypes are when you believe that all people within a group are the same based on what you know about one individual within a group. Stereotypes can be about any characteristic of a person such as their looks, sexual orientation, weight, or behavior. We often learn stereotypes from the media and from our families as we are growing up. For example, until recently it was believed that all women should stay at home to cook, clean, and care for their children. As a result, people may have stereotypes about women, such as, “All women are good cooks”, or “Women should be secretaries and men bosses.” Stereotypes are very harmful to people. They can make us feel misunderstood and not respected. It is important to become aware of the stereotypes you have about others so that you do make a patient feel that they are not respected or valued.

Self Check Activity \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Statement	Example of
1. “Men should not show their emotions by crying in front of others.”	A. Ethnocentrism
2. “Everyone who comes to the United States should learn to speak English.”	B. Stereotype
3. “I identify myself as a Native American. This is my ______.”	C. Culture
4. “I am Italian. This is my________”	D. Race
5. “The agency I work for hires people of all genders, races, ages, and cultures.”	E. Racism
6. “The agency I work for will only hire Caucasians.”	F. Diversity

Solution

1). B

2). A

3). D

4). C

5). F

6). E

Feedback:

1. A stereotype is the belief that all members of a group are the same. We often develop stereotypes from our family and the media. Believing that men should not cry is a stereotype.

2. Ethnocentricism is the belief that our own culture is better or superior to other cultures. The statement, “Everyone who comes to the United States should learn to speak English” suggests that living in the United States and speaking English is better than living in other countries or speaking other languages.

3. Race is a classification of people based on physical attributes, geographic ancestry (where a person came from originally), and inherited characteristics. Identifying as Native American is a type of race.

4. Culture is a set of behaviors, beliefs, values, attitudes, and goals shared by a group of people. A person may identify themselves as belonging to many cultures. Identifying as Italian indicates belonging to a specific cultural group.

5. Diversity means including and respecting different types of cultures. An agency who hires people of all genders, races, religions, and cultures demonstrates that they value differences.

6. Racism is a belief that one racial group is better than another racial group, or that one member of a race is the same as all other members of that race. If an agency only hires members of one particular race they are discriminating against others races. Racism results in prejudice against a particular race.

Self-Awareness

Take a moment to think about what makes up your culture. What groups do you consider to be important to you? What roles do you play in your life? Are you a mother, father, daughter, or grandson? Do you have religious or spiritual beliefs that you practice? Do you have traditions and rituals in your family that are important to you? How do you identify yourself? What groups do you belong to? Do you have hobbies, clubs, organizations, or a profession to which you belong to and identify with?

Your culture is a part of who you are. It has helped to shape your beliefs, values, and attitudes. You bring it everywhere with you. You bring your culture to work with you. Your culture influences how you view and interact with the world around you. It influences how you understand and care for your patients. It is important to engage in self–reflection in order to better understand how you see yourself. The more you understand your own beliefs, the better able you will be to understand and appreciate the beliefs of others and to care for patients if you pursue a career as a Home Health Aide/Personal Care Aide.

Self-Awareness Activity \(\PageIndex{1}\)

This activity will help you gain a better understanding of the different ways you identify yourself. Begin by drawing a large circle in the center of a piece of paper. Then, draw lines from that center circle. Draw smaller circles at the end of each of those lines. In the center circle, write the role, identity, or culture that is most important to you and by which defines who you are. For example, it might be your name, gender, race, ethnic heritage, religion, profession, a role in your life that is crucial to your identity, or any other aspect of your identity that is the center to who you are. In each of the smaller circles, write down all the other roles or cultures to which you belong, or other aspects of your life that help identify who you are. The smaller circles may have words that describe your identity such as mother, daughter, health care aide/personal care aide, student, musician, writer, Irish, African, Catholic, Muslim, etc. The possibilities are endless.

After you complete your circles, take a moment to think about what each of the identities means to you.How do they shape how you view the world? Do you think that others could have stereotypes about any of the aspects of your identity? If so, what would this mean to you? How would you go about challenging those stereotypes to help the other person understand who you really are? Then, think about other people you may know. What do you think would be in their circles? Do you have stereotypes of any of other roles, cultures, and important aspects of other people’s identities?

This activity will help you to understand how diverse your own beliefs, customs, and roles are. It will help you to see how various roles are important in your life and how others may view your own differences. This will help you to become more understanding of the uniqueness of each patient with whom you may work if you choose to pursue a career as a Home Health Aide/Personal Care Aide.

Adapted from Circles of my Multicultural Self by Paul C. Gorski http://www.edchange.org/multicultura...lesofself.html

Cultural Awareness & Cultural Competence

Cultural awareness means how aware you are about the values and beliefs of other cultures. It is also means how much you appreciate the various aspects of the different cultures. Becoming culturally aware is a lifelong journey. It is nearly impossible to know all the customs and beliefs of every culture in the world. What is important for health care workers is to strive to learn as much as they can about the variety of cultures in our world. For each patient that they work with, they should ask them to tell them about their cultural beliefs and practices. In this way, they will always be learning about all the different cultures, and working to better understand and care for their patient!

Cultural competence goes along with cultural awareness. Cultural competence means the ability to incorporate cultural awareness into the health care practice. It means understanding and respecting a patient’s cultural beliefs and working with them in a way to demonstrate that you respect and honor these beliefs. For example, if a patient likes to pray before eating meals, and the Home Health Aide/Personal Care Aide provides and supports their prayer prior to their meals, they are practicing in a culturally competent manner. The more aware they become of different cultures, and the more they learn to appreciate differences, the more culturally competent they will become.

Self Check Activity \(\PageIndex{2}\)

Directions: Fill in the blank with the correct term that matches the description

1. This term means providing healthcare in a way that demonstrates you understand, honor, and respect your patient’s cultural beliefs _______________________________.

2. This term means learning about the values, beliefs, and practices cultures that are different than your own ______________________________.

Solution

a. Cultural competence

b. Cultural awareness

Feedback:

1. Cultural competence means the ability to incorporate cultural awareness into the health care practice. Doing so demonstrates understanding, honor, and respect for a patient’s cultural beliefs.

2. Cultural awareness means how aware you are about the values and beliefs of other cultures and how much you appreciate the various aspects of the different