There has been increased awareness of healthcare beliefs and practices, but the knowledge about Hispanics remains limited. Hispanics make up about 16% of the United States population, and the proportion is expected to increase to about 30% by 2050 (Evans, Lewis & Hudson, 2012). As a diverse ethnic group, they have various cultures, nationalities and races. Hispanics have characteristics that could interfere with their quest for medical assistance, health education, and therapy. This paper seeks to explore the Hispanic’s health beliefs and patterns, communication style, time orientation, family patterns, space orientation, nutritional patterns, pain responses, childbirth and perinatal care, death and dying, spirituality, religion as well as faith and prayer and meditation.
Health Beliefs and Practices
Hispanics believe that mental or physical illness could be linked to an imbalance between the individual and the environment. Some of the influences are spiritual, social state, physical factors and emotional aspects. They perceive diseases or health conditions as either ‘hot’ or ‘cold’. The cold conditions are characterized by low metabolic rate while the ‘hot diseases’ are characterized by high metabolic rate and vasolidation. Some examples of ‘hot diseases’ are pregnancy, acid indigestion, diabetes and bilis . Hispanics also believe that folk illnesses are health issues associated with a particular group’s members and for which the culture offers prevention, diagnosis as well as healing regimen (Evans et al., 2012). Some of the folk illnesses that could be encountered in a Hispanic patient are antojos or a pregnant woman’s cravings, b arrevillos or obsessions. Health problems that have a spiritual background are treated through rituals and prayer. Contrarily, a few Hispanics who use folk means of illness treatment find it difficult simultaneously using the cosmopolitan treatments including anti-hypertensives and antibiotics. Lay healers are also relied on to provide relief to the sick. One of the common home remedies is tea obtained from fruits, spices as well as various herbs. Patients could also a naturalist doctor to prescribe the ‘natural remedies’ required for them to get relief or healing. Despite the source of treatment and care, the family and patient could embed faith in God as an essential element of understanding the issue and cure.
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Family Patterns
Hispanic family patterns emphasize on interdependence and collectivism. The extended family is the major structure or pattern of the Hispanic family. The family concept also extends beyond the nuclear family structure to include grandchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins as well as neighbors. The obligation towards all the members of the family is anticipated and accepted as crucial for fulfilment by all the members. Because interdependence is perceived as a crucial value, dependency on another person is regarded as a positive virtue rather than an indication of weakness. Members of the family, neighbors and close friends rely on each other for any necessary support ( Landale, Oropesa, & Bradatan, 2006). Doing things independently is not the norm among Hispanics. On the other hand, one could be considered arrogant or having superiority feelings in case they tried to resolve all issues without asking for help. Hispanics further believe in strong family structures and family needs are considered as more crucial than individual needs (Wagner et al., 2010). The identity of the individuals is significantly influenced by the relationship that they have with members of the family. Every family member has an assigned role and people respect the family teachings as well as traditional values. Overall, the hierarchical structure of the family plays a role in distributing powers and responsibilities.
Communication Style
The best Hispanic communication styles are the ones that target the family instead of individuals. Hispanics usually have strong community and family bonds. A communication style that emphasizes on family has the positive impact of attracting them. Hispanics also rely on non-verbal communication. They rely on non-verbal communication cues including facial expressions, physical touch, physical appearance, voice sounds, body and hand movement and emotional appearance. Compared to the Anglos, the communication style of Hispanics is more formal ( Schouten, & Meeuwesen, 2006). There is high value for respect which is shown using the formal titles. Hispanics have a tendency of showing affection through touch. Hispanics also value physical connection, with kisses and hugs being normal in day to day interactions. Simple gestures including a pat on the shoulder or a handshake could be quite effective. Touch is used for communicating that people care and understand what others are saying. Hand and body movement is also quite significant as many Hispanics find it important to use their hands for effective communication. Voice volume and pitch are also used in an extensive way. During social gatherings, raising the voice to capture the attention of a group is accepted.
Space Orientation
The personal space of Hispanics is close. In relationships, Hispanics associate proximity with closeness in relationships while being apart is equated with disregard. Generally, Hispanics have preference for living close to family, hence facilitating daily communication through telephone or in person. It is crucial for members to share failures or successes and receive emotional support from friends and family. Silence could imply the inability to understand ad embarrassment about disagreeing or asking. Hispanics also value privacy and modesty. It is also worth noting that health issues should be discussed with interpreters rather than family members. Furthermore, Hispanics have a unique sense of space compared to Americans. The personal space for Hispanics is less than an arm’s length. Whereas greetings for Americans are often a firm handshake, among Hispanics, it is usually characterized by a less form handshake, a hug, and a kiss on the cheek (Crouch, 2004). The Hispanic orientation of space also revolves around family protection.
Time orientation
Hispanics view time as contracting, relative and expanding. The general perception is that there is always time for others because human needs are more crucial and deadlines could be changed. Due to sufficient time, one does not have to fit their needs to schedules and deadlines. The essence of this time orientation is to enable the people to focus on core groups, care for others and achieve group harmony. Because of the collectivist mind-set, time orientation emphasizes on the need for strong relationships and families. Hispanics are described as polychronic whereby they could do various things at once ( Lee, Liu, & Hu, 2017). They have a tendency of focusing less on accounting on every moment. Also, Hispanics tend to have less perception of time and are not wholly reliant or dictated by schedules and calendars. Time, therefore, has less significance to them compared to cycle seasons, religious festivities’ calendar and community life patterns. Time orientation is mainly geared towards promoting group harmony.
Nutritional Patterns
The normal diet of Hispanics is mainly influenced by traditional dietary patterns of their place of origin. Consequently, there are numerous regional differences between the various Hispanic subgroups in terms of dietary composition and the food preparation means. In spite of the various ancestral backgrounds of Latinos, many of them still have core aspects of the traditional diet of Hispanics. This includes the dependence on beans, grains, incorporation of vegetables and fruits within the diet (Cluskey et al., 2013). Family life forms a crucial part of the culture and significantly influences the dietary choices and behaviors through the preparation of meals at home and families eating together. Hispanics also have a tendency of eating more rice and cereals than pasta. They also have less likelihood of consuming the right quantity of vegetables, despite having a higher intake of fruits. In addition, they also have higher likelihood of drinking whole milk and eating beef. Overall, they tend to have a low consumption of leafy vegetables. Milk and eggs are common among the first generation immigrants because of engaging in American snack food, fast food and soda. Obesity among them is linked to the new American diet norm. The diet mainly involves the complex carbohydrates including beans, bread and rice.
Pain Responses
Hispanics believe that expressing pain is a sign of weakness, particularly among the men. However, it is more acceptable among women and moaning is a way of expressing and even reducing pain. Pain could be regarded as ‘suffering’ and could focus on the emotional component. They tend to report fewer pain experiences because of the perception that experiencing pain symbolizes weakness. In response to pain, they have more likelihood to report through religious coping. For pain management, they often seek pain care outside the United States using “hot” treatments, including massage, herbs and teas that are in tandem with the ‘cold’ and ‘hot’ theory of disease (Hollingshead et al., 2016).
Childbirth and Perinatal Care
The concept of the labouring mother is more common among the first generation immigrants. Traditional Hispanics regard labour as the task of a woman. Only a few of the men are involved in these tasks. There is no preparation for childbirth and perinatal care because of the less attention accorded to the events. This is mainly because of the traditional perception that mothers will ably take care of the new-borns without the help of men (Kieffer, 2003).
Death and Dying
Hispanics loathe talking about death and fear planning or thinking for their death. The first generation has more likelihood of dealing with death and the funeral arrangements in a short period when it occurs. The period is estimated to be about one to three days. During the end of life, a nun or priest from Parish may be present. In the traditional families, much of the care is provided for the family members who are terminally ill by the female relatives who do not ask for outside assistance to withstand the stress associated with caring for someone who is almost close to death (Born et al., 2004). Some of the families could refuse the idea of taking a seriously ill member of the family into a facility or nursing home. Ill persons get care from home or pass away with a family member by their side. Spending time with a member of the family who is almost dying also enables relatives to resolve outstanding family issues.
Spirituality, Religion and Faith
Hispanics are predominantly Catholics, but some have other religious faiths. The crucial religious rites are baptism of the infants; crucial in life-threatening situations, and the rite for anointing of the sick or Last Rites, which is needed during the life-threatening situations. Hispanic Catholics have more likelihood of praying to saints of the faith and bringing in religious symbols. Evangelical Protestantism is among the fastest growing religions among this group. The Church offers insight that the soul is eternal. It continues on after the death of the physical body. Catholicism also values all human life. Illness and faith could be perceived as a test of the religious faith of the family and individual (Juckett, 2013). Some cases could be characterized by the faith of the family and patient preventing the person from agreeing to accept comfort measures. Hispanic families usually seek spiritual and emotional support from the church whereas caregivers usually seek solace from their religious beliefs as a way of withstanding stress.
Prayer and Meditation
Many Hispanics have an active prayer and meditation spirituality that is grounded in their day to day lives. Spirituality among them is usually expressed through the Hispanic culture. The cultural values of close, affectionate relationships offer the background for a personal and active link to God. The connection enables one to overcome the family and personal hardships and provides one with strength for the community’s social betterment ( Campesino, & Schwartz, 2006) . This implies that prayer and meditation play a crucial role in the lives of Hispanics. Personal prayer outside church occurs every day compared to church attendance; a finding that could indicate a spiritually based life. Therefore, meditation and prayer are used as a source of personal strength and part of the relationship one has with the community and family.
Knowledge gained
I have gained vast knowledge that I did not previously know from the Hispanics. The unique culture of the group makes them have distinct healthcare needs. From faith, religion, spirituality, prayer and meditation, I have gained significant insight. I will use this knowledge to ensure that the care I provide is oriented towards addressing their needs.
References
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