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Issues Impacting Health Care Delivery

According to Irvine, McPhee, and Kerridge (1), physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals and caregivers must be aware of and sensitive to the various cultural backgrounds of their patients and the different attitudes that patients from distinct populations may hold concerning health, wellness, disease, treatment, care, spirituality, decision-making, and other relevant concepts. Additionally, caregivers in the health field must be aware of their own cultural biases and the ways in which such biases can impact upon care delivery. Though it is not necessary for health service workers at all levels to uncritically accept all outlooks presented by patients, and while professionals in the field have a duty to ensure that the medical needs of their patients are addressed in keeping with professional practice standards and protocols, a trusting relationship between patients and caregivers is essential; such a relationship depends, in large measure, upon communication and understanding (1).

There is a growing recognition on the part of health caregivers that issues related to gender, culture, religious or spiritual belief and value systems, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation directly impact upon patients' response to care and attitudes toward their presenting and other problems (1). Consequently, efforts have been undertaken to identify barriers to care delivery and strategies for overcoming the negative influence of these barriers (1). Schilder, Kennedy, Goldstone, Ogden, Hogg, and O'Shaughnessy (2), in a study focused primarily on care issues related to the HIV/AIDS patients, argued that culturally competent care requires that caregivers recognize that their patient is a "whole person" and not a "presenting problem" or a set of symptoms. Successful health care providers are aware, according to these researchers, of the myriad different issues that may play a role in the provision of care to special patient popula...

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Issues Impacting Health Care Delivery. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 02:47, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1695966.html