Heritage assessment of health maintenance, health protection, and health restoration among Hispanics, Mexican-Americans and Indians

        In the recent years, high-income nations have increased the number of immigrants coming to settle due to poverty, unemployment and wars among others.  In most also self-interest and country’s policy which promotes high employment and stability also drives individual to settle in another country.  The situation creates interaction of different cultural practices. As the number of immigrants’ increases, nurses, doctors and general health care practices face several challenges of patient care. There are sufficient which link nursing and health care delivery based on cultural perspective. Individuals also have different beliefs concerning birth, death, health, and, which are influenced by culture. In an event that, culturally-based health care is not provided, research indicates that a negative events’ trajectory results which ranges from miscommunication, conflict to life-threatening diseases.

Over the years, differences in cultural-based care have prompted health care practitioners to come up with a way healthcare which suits most of the cultures.  Majority of the healthcare institutions have settled for heritage assessment tool. Heritage Assessment Tool is a dependable tool which can be used evaluate, maintain, protect and restore a person’s cultural beliefs when caring out healthcare management. The assessment assists nurses and doctors to meet the cultural needs different patients require during the care process. This paper explores the Hispanic, Mexican-American and my personal (Indian) culture and the beliefs on the maintenance, promotion and health restoration, and health traditions. In so doing, the similarities and difference can be understood by healthcare practitioners. Heritage Assessment also enables healthcare providers to be aware of different cultural needs, attitudes and values specific to health.  However, nurses and doctors should also use their healthcare knowledge even if they are trying to adhere to cultural health practices.

In every society and ethnicity, members have culture which is unique to them. Just like any other. Just like any other ethnicity, Mexican Americans boast of their unique and rich culture which influences every aspect of their lives including healthcare, religion and family matters. Mexican Americans are partial and full Mexican descent who migrated and settled in America. The research claims that by 2013, the people of Mexican Americans ethnicity made up 10.9 percent of the population of the US with. Obviously, as these people try to live the lives of Native Americans, their cultural-based healthcare beliefs have still remained.

Mexican-American beliefs regarding healthcare are originated from historical and cultural viewpoints that could impact the inclination of an individual to look for medical help or abide by the prescribed health treatment. This ethnic group has a perception that proper health results from reward or luck from God. They also believe that illness or disease results from God’s punishment. Mexican-Americans usually make use of folk medicine to treat minor disease as a substitute for the scientific medical care. These folk remedies originated as a result of influences the ethnic group acquired from the Roman Catholic Church and Indians. The remedies include the use herbal medicine, rituals and amulets. Some common herbs applied by American Mexican consist of mint tea, cinnamon, chamomile tea, and tamolindo. Magico-religious beliefs are very widespread in American Mexican and are carried when a severe disease develops. These practices include medals, shrines, healers and medals. A traditional healer from Mexican-American called curandera emphasizes on the spiritual, mental, physical, and social aspects of a sick person. An individual may ask curandera if he or she is allowed to seek medical care from a profession.

As an Indian my cultural and traditional beliefs, and practices relating to healthcare are have a huge difference from other cultures. Indians communities are recognized for their fortitude and the manner in which they treat guests without looking at religion, race, social class or beliefs. However, that does not mean that Indians are entirely multicultural. In fact they too have their cultural beliefs which pertain to healthcare.  India people particularly, the elderly consider that wealth and health are largely connected to body, soul and mind. Even though, Indians look for medical from the aches and related diseases, most Indians are ashamed and afraid of reporting of mental health concerns to doctors, nurses and general healthcare practices. In respect to this, they only report when it becomes severe for help. Despite using western medicine, Indian society has its traditional system of medicine which consist Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Siddha, Unani, Acupressure and Acupuncture.

Ayurveda is what Indians refers to “the science of life” and it entails numerous aspects of the medical system which reduces stress on the human soul, mind, and body and can be obtained by maintaining a daily life routine, yoga usage, and refreshing activities. People believe in order to speed the process of healing, one needs herbal medicine. In these times individuals believe in preventing the disease rather than to cure. They concentrate more on vaccinations, protection and restoration by physical examination, age-appropriate health screening, and maintaining good health. There is availability of the public health services offered to the society so as to improve and integrate optimal health.

The major concerns of the India government are to provide improved environmental sanitation, nutritious and hygienic food, and water, especially in the public sector.  In order to make the society health, there are accessible screening tests which can diagnose early diseases like cardiac diseases, diabetes and hypertension among others. The less fortunate are not able to get advantages from the expensive private sectors despite the well and equipped current health care facilities under private and public sector found in India.  They have media houses like newspaper, radio, printed material and television that give knowledge and encourage the population on the prevention of infectious diseases and immunizations. In my family we strongly believe in our traditions and culture.  We always seek medical advice when we are sick and get appropriate medications. In our society, men are regarded as the most powerful and are allowed to give authorities. Individuals believe that the health practitioner should be reliable while describing prescription and careful while providing treatment.

Looking at the Hispanic culture on medicine and health, it makes us know the fear and concern the health practitioner might have while treating individuals in the health care centers. They believe in dependence on spiritual beliefs while sick or folk systems of healing hence do not seek medical advice.  They believe that disease is as a result of God’s disapproval or approval of behavior. At times due to their culture Hispanic patients are taken to the hospital on their late stages of the disease and require persistent treatment.  Majority of the Hispanic are saints of the Catholic and do believe in prayers and God. Sometimes they say that illness is as a result of punishment for bad behavior while good health is a reward from God. Being close to their nuclear families and beyond, Hispanics live closely to each other and maintain good contact. They also depend on one another physically and emotionally including when one is sick. They involve their all family while making decision concerning their health needs. A comparison between these three cultures, Hispanics, American Mexicans and Indians reveals that all of them beliefs in the herbal medicine. Also these three different ethnic groups believe that good health is resulted from reward or luck from God. However, they also believe that illness is a punishment God.

The essay concludes that by interviewing the three families healthcare providers identify each other’s culture and heritage. The research has found out that family’s health perception, cultural practices, socio-economic status, environment, religious beliefs, practices and support, affect the impact of promotion and restoration, maintaining good health. Therefore accepting and applying these concepts enables health practitioners to have good connections and recommendations with the people while encouraging healing, well-being and healthy individuals, in accordance with individual mental, physical, spiritual and cultural beliefs. In so doing, the healthcare practitioners are likely to design an attainable health care plan for individuals.