Culture and Health Philosophy

Culture influences the healthcare system and the role of the healthcare provider in many ways, affecting them differently at each level. It is vital for healthcare providers to be educated about how culture influences healthcare, as it is essential to provide all patients — regardless of race, sex, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or background — with appropriate care. However, not only does culture impact different aspects of healthcare, such as communication, equity, and delivery, but it also differs in how those concepts intersect at the different levels of healthcare. Understanding how communication affects patient-provider care, equity is addressed to serve minority groups within a population, and effective delivery of health education and care by foreign specialists relates to belief systems, is vital to provide culturally competent care at every level of the healthcare system.

Communication at the patient-provider level in the healthcare system must be considered when addressing patients from different religious, ethnic, or cultural backgrounds. Addressing the communication barriers that can occur when a provider is caring for a patient from a different cultural background than their own is a vital component of culturally competent care. This is very important in diverse populations or in countries where there are a lot of tourists. For example, Iceland is a very homogeneous and small country, with a population of around only 375,000. However, there are around 2,000,000 tourists from all over the world that visit Iceland annually. It would be impossible for an Icelandic doctor to be informed of every culture and country in the world and their varying health practices; however, it is crucial for the healthcare provider to understand how these differences might impact the patient's ability to understand, follow, and utilize the healthcare available to them. For example, a Jehova witness will not be able to accept blood transfusions, a Hispanic individual would prefer a healing approach to healthcare rather than a curative one, and many cultures perceive Western doctors as cold and thus untrustworthy. All of these factors play into how effective or ineffective the communication is between the healthcare provider and the patient, which largely impacts the patient's ability to receive appropriate healthcare. Therefore, providers must be aware of the communication barriers that might appear between a foreign patient and themselves to provide culturally appropriate healthcare.

Equitable healthcare must be established for the minority group of any given population to ensure equal access to appropriate healthcare. Access to universal health care is not enough when talking about culture and health, and it is vital to consider the needs of prominent minority groups when addressing healthcare in order to make it equitable. Equitable healthcare focuses on meeting the individual at their level and providing everyone with equal opportunities to receive appropriate healthcare. The importance of equitable healthcare for minority groups within a population can even be seen in countries as small as Iceland. For instance, there is a growing number of Polish people living in Iceland — around 20,000 when last checked — and this minority group within Iceland does not necessarily speak English, let alone Icelandic. Additionally, there are big variations between the cultures and norms of these populations. So, even though Iceland has universal healthcare, polish Icelanders do not get the same access to healthcare as a typical Icelander would because having access to a physician that does not speak one's language or provides care that conflicts with one's religious beliefs are not equitable. Moreover, when there become established minority groups, it is essential that a healthcare professional from that group is represented within the healthcare system to some degree, as this would accurately reflect the population, and providing interpreters that are not medical professionals can always cause problems in that they inherently are interpreters and not translates, which always leaves room for error. This is why the dominant culture must understand the barriers within the healthcare system for these prominent minority groups and incorporate members of said groups into the healthcare system, to ensure that they receive access to equitable healthcare.

A foreign specialist delivering health education and care in a foreign environment (another country) must understand the belief system and logic of the local community in order to effectively implement useful strategies to address the given problem. Moreover, not only must the specialist understand the belief system of the people they aim to help, but they must also develop a model of delivery that aligns with the logic and values within the local community. Failing to do this, results in the local community rejecting the help of the specialist, and the healthcare needs of the population are left unmet. Therefore, the specialist must work with the community and take time to understand their logic — their reason for doing things — in order to deliver the system in a palatable, practical, appropriate, and applicable way for the specific population they desire to work with. For example, if a specialist from Iceland were to go the Malawi, Africa, they must understand how the culture of the people in that area will influence the receptiveness of the help being delivered. But first, they must understand their own culture and heritage to build the bridge of understanding from their own perspective to the perspective and the belief system of the Malawians. Then, when the foreign specialist understands their own culture, the culture and belief system of the people addressed in the population, and how to alter the delivery of the healthcare or education so that it aligns with the population's belief system, the healthcare provider has effectively done their job in a culturally competent manner. Therefore, appropriate delivery of health recommendations, education, care, and practices, allowed foreign health professionals to effectively help and deliver culturally competent care for all.

Communication at the patient-provider level, ensuring equity for minority groups, and appropriate delivery of care and education are thus vital to the successful implementation and practice of healthcare and health professionals at all levels of delivery. Recognizing the importance of this will allow future healthcare to address the patients at their level and provide the most propriety and effective healthcare for each patient. All of these aspects apply to my profession as I aim to develop a universal and culturally adaptive health literacy curriculum for K-12 education that enables students to make informed decisions, lead healthy lives, and overcome adversities. Understanding culture and health allows me to carry out my work in an appropriate and culturally competent way for varying populations and health topics.