NUR 2092>TRodriguez_HealthandIllnessBeliefs_010717

Assessments and Health and Illness Beliefs 2 A consideration of the patient’s culture is paramount in the process of the interview, diagnosis, and treatment of culturally diverse individuals. Healthcare can be a complex issue. Cultural and language barriers can complicate the situation even more. Assessment of these patients can raise many issues that the nurse needs to be aware of and address in order to come up with a specific diagnosis and an acceptable plan of treatment that respects the patient’s cultural beliefs. I have been an eye witness to how a person’s cultural beliefs can have an effect on a person’s decisions as far as their medical care goes. Last year my mother in law, who is Hispanic, and is in her early seventy’s broke her hip. She went to the hospital with at least half a dozen relatives most of whom spoke little to no English so a translator was requested in order to be sure she understood everything being said. Her condition was explained to her in detail. The doctor explained to her that she needed surgery, he explained and stressed the importance of the having the procedure. After speaking t