Cultural Values & Health Care Beliefs

While the United States has long been considered to be a nation of immigrants, the bulk of the newcomers during most of the nation's history were from the various European cultures with which their predecessors also identified. Beginning in the 1960s, however, the proportion of Europeans among immigrants to the United States has steadily decreased. Thus, an ever increasing number of ethnic communities have developed and continue to develop in this country whose social mores are quite different from the European cultural values that tend to characterized the behaviors of the majority of the American population.

One area of endeavor for which this growing diversity in cultural values is of particular significance is nursing (Leininger, 1991, p. 55). Cultural values affect health beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors (Friedman, 1991, p. 169). To provide effective nursing for members of cultural minorities, nurses must first learn about the relevant cultures and then develop care patterns that are congruent with the values held by the target population (Luna, 1989, p. 22).

This research explores the problems of providing nursing

care for cultural minorities in the United States through a consideration of the cultural values and health beliefs of Middle Eastern cultural groups residing in this country. The developing of care practices is considered within the

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When health care workers, such as nurses, are viewed as a part of the governmental establishment, therefore, Islamic fundamentalists may view those workers and their care plans with suspicion. Although the Qur`an provides guidelines for the processes of change, these guidelines are not uniformly interpreted by the different Islamic sects. Both the Qur`an and the Shari`ah, a set of rules by which the principles of the Qur` an are implemented, were completed by the end of the eighth century. Thus, interpreting these principles and rules within the context of contemporary activities that were not dreamt of in the eighth century while attempting to preserve traditional Islamic values tends to become a task that is frequently complex and which equally frequently produces contradictory outcomes. The nurse attempting to devise care plans within such a cultural environment, therefore, often may feel that he or she is being asked to walk through a cultural mine field. The cultural status of women in Middle Eastern cultural groups in the United States frequently poses particularly difficult problems for nurses developing care practices. Women in Middle Eastern cultural groups residing in the United States are par
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Middle Eastern, Jacobs Huether, Introduction United, United Male, Israel Hindu, Qur`an Shari`ah, Christianity Judaism, middle eastern, eastern cultural, middle eastern cultural, NLN Pub, April-May Transcultural, Company Friedman, cultural residing, eastern cultural residing, care practices, cultural residing united, huether 1991, cultural values, female role, huether 1991 193, residing united, 1991 193, chinn jacobs huether, chinn jacobs,
Approximate Word count = 2221
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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