Heritage Assessment Tool, Essay Example

As the current events unfold with the United States having an influx of immigrants cross its borders every day, the questions of culture, heritage, and family have become a mainstay. As many look towards familial relationships established in the United States. In understanding the differences in each culture and heritage, one must first provide a meaning to each concept. Heritage is portrayed as individual’s lifestyle which reflects in their family society. According to the UMass Amherst Center for Heritage & Society, “the full range of our inherited traditions, monuments, objects, and culture.  Most important, it is the range of contemporary activities, meanings, and behaviors that we draw from them.” (UMASS Amherst, 2014) Social heritage assumes an enormous part in money related, mutual, and prosperity of a single person. Relatives and group can help in the assurance of mental wellbeing by giving passionate and social backing. Distinctive societies have diverse ethics and convictions of wellbeing and illness.

As should be obvious United States has exceptionally assorted society. Heritage evaluation is an incredible instrument to be acquainted with singular’s convictions and wellbeing customs of the people from distinctive societies. In applying an assessment tool, it will provide the individual with the knowledge to not only appreciate the differences in cultures, but also learn how this can be implemented in helping a person in the future. In knowing the heritage and background of an individual, one can better provide medical, physical, and psychological assessment in efforts of pinpointing any problems that can be solved by using this information. The responsibilities of a nurse to apply the health education to each patient, in regards to their background, to make a better diagnosis in providing information to better their health. More importantly, nurses should be competent in patient’s cultural backgrounds in consideration for meeting their needs. (Edelman, Mandle 2010) This paper will provide a complete assessment tool for three different families, providing different heritages, which can be used to identify health traditions, protection, and restoration in relation to the assessment. The three different families include African American, Mexican American, and Caucasian heritages.

In looking at the different health traditions of each family, the African American family looked to their elders, and grandparent’s traditions on health to use presently. This included following a daily tradition of eating enough calories, getting the correct vaccinations, getting 8 hours of sleep, and eating foods that helped to get the digestive tract regular. The African American, Sherry, was from Texas, and her parents, as well as her grandparents, were from Texas also. Raised in a home with three other siblings, she grew up in suburbia, where her extended family were very close.  Being on the Baptist faith, her family was very religious, and went to church every Sunday, going to a public school, and being an active member of the community. As an adult she waned from going to church religiously, however, still practiced at home. The food preparation was always done at home, with fresh fruits and vegetables, in order to maintain a healthy diet. In regards to health protection and restoration, Sherry takes her daily vitamins, maintains health insurance, self-defense lessons, as well as works out, and follows a routine of eating an apple a day. If she does get ill, she follows the family tradition of warm salt water, wrap in a heavy blanket for cold, and hot toddy, (hot tea, lemon, and whiskey). Sherry’s spouse who is Caucasian, shares similarities to Sherry, in being raised Baptist, and from the south, mostly follows the same traditions, getting health tips from his grandparents, that have been passed down. He also believes in maintaining a healthy lifestyle with plenty of fruit and vegetables, but has a weakness for fried foods, and sweets. When sick he relies on modern medicine to do the job, instead of herbal remedies or another tradition. He restores and protects his health with annual physicals, and weekly workouts.

Looking at the Mexican- American Culture, Margo, is another female that is from Florida. Since the Mexican-American culture is one of the fastest growing populations in America, it is imperative to know the cultural implications in regards to their health needs. (Eggenberger, Grassley, Restrepo, 2006) Her family came to America when she was just still in her mother’s belly, so she was born in the United States. Her grandparents came with her parents from Mexico. They speak mostly Spanish, with Margo and her four siblings translating for her grandparents. Margo’s parents however have assimilated into the American culture and are business owners of a landscaping business. Margo was raised in a Catholic household, with a strong emphasis on going to mass, and sticking to the principles of the religion. She went to Catholic School, and was mostly raised on others that immigrated to the United States. The neighborhood, in which she grew up was an urban area, where it was a large population of Mexicans, Haitians, and other South Americans. Her health traditions differed from Sherry’s, in which her daily routine consisted of eating cactus in order to maintain cholesterol levels, eating garlic for heart protection, as well as keeping sickness away, and also using herbal remedies in a way to cure any ailments. She provided that getting plenty of rest, as well as drinking the recommended eight glasses of water were essential to maintaining a healthy weight. Her health traditions were passed on to her from her grandparents, mostly her grandmother; that helped with female tips, such as not going to bed with wet hair, or outside, in order to prevent fever or colds. Also use natural herbs such as cloves to help with pain, and maintain health insurance in order to protect against in unfortunate accidents. Margo understands that not everyone in her neighborhood can afford health insurance. However, she says that in order to protect her health, she must have insurance.

The last heritage assessment belongs to Tiffany, who is of Caucasian descent, mainly European, her family is from the United States, by way of Europe (Ireland). Tiffany comes from an affluent family in which she has always lived in nice suburban area, which allows for daily jogs with neighbors, and workout facilities in the area. Tiffany gets her health traditions from her parents, in which they received from their parents and so on. She maintains her health much like Sherry with daily vitamins and relies on a healthy routine of fruits and vegetables to keep in shape. When she feels sick, she goes to the doctor for medicine. She restores her health by eating plenty of greens, and drinking plenty of water. She has excellent health insurance, takes self-defense classes, drives safely, and gets plenty of rest. She is not very religious, although raised in a protestant home, and she doesn’t put too much into the religion. While she doesn’t have much health traditions, she does have several health maintenance in which she does to protect her health, and her mind, including yoga, meditation, Pilates, and regular juicing.

In looking at the three different families, they have similar health maintenance, and protections in which includes maintaining health insurance, eating right, drinking plenty of water, and getting plenty of rest. There differ in their heritages with health traditions, as the Mexican-American, and African American heritages included using herbal remedies, or traditions passed down from their grandparents. While Tiffany didn’t follow any traditions, she did rely on modern medicine to help, which is something that, each family agreed is helpful in restoring health. As a nurse, it is imperative to understand the different heritages, and work with each patient in order to cultivate a plan to meet their needs. It is also the nurse’s role in knowing the differences in how to provide health education for different cultures, and be sensitive to each background, in order to make a better assessment. The assessment tool will serve as a helpful tool in aiding the nurses with substantial information in treating each patient.

References

Edelman, C., Mandle, C. (2010). Health promotion throughout the life span. Page Burstls. Retrieved from  http://pageburstls.elsevier.com/#/books/9780323056625/pages/4912990

Eggenberger, Sandra, Grassley, Jane, Restrepo, Elizabeth. (2006). Culturally Competent Nursing Care for Families: Listening to the Voices of Mexican-American Women. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume112006/No3Sept06/ArticlePreviousTopics/CulturallyCompetentNursingCare.html

What is Heritage? (2014). UMASS Amherst Center for Heritage and Society. Retrieved from http://www.umass.edu/chs/about/whatisheritage.html