Diversity in nursing practice is essential in healthcare. Research indicates that nurses can care for patients and establish trust and a more in-depth understanding of patients when they understand the patient’s culture, biases, behaviors, and customs (Hancock, 2020). Moreover, trust and communication are improved. Besides, patients feel more confident and comfortable in the care they get when the person who is caring for them can relate to them ethnically or culturally (Mendes, 2015). A closer look at the cultural biases, beliefs, customs, and behaviors of the Hmong community is looked at in this paper and how a nurse can act when giving care to a patient form such a society.
Hmong Beliefs about Illnesses Causation
The Hmong believe that for someone to have perfect health, he/she has to achieve a proper balance between the body and the spirit. As such, illnesses are attributed to physical or spiritual causes. The Hmong treat physical objects with either western medicine or traditional curatives (Hagger et al., 2016). They believe that some of the spiritual roots of illnesses are loss of one’s spirit, evil spirits, and a curse upon the household by someone or unhappy descendants.
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Spiritual healing and How Nurse Can Counter the Tradition
The Hmong believe that good health depends on the inner spirit that dwells in an individual. These souls govern the body. Consequently, the Hmong carry out spiritual healing using rituals. These are normally carried out by the Shamans, hence the entrenchment of Shamanism (Carteret, 2012). Such healing rituals are frequently conducted either in hospitals or in homes. Nurses can learn from such practices and allow the Hmong to carry out their routines before the administration of Western medicine. Understanding the people’s culture goes a long way into ensuring that conflict doesn’t arise between the Hmong and the healthcare providers.
In summary, nurses need to be aware of the diversity that exists in various places. Therefore, they can counter their lack of knowledge by learning about the beliefs, practices, customs, and practices of minorities in their attempt to equip themselves with information that might come in handy when providing care to patients from such groups. One such group is the Hmong community in the US.
References
Carteret, Marcia. Providing Healthcare To Hmong Patients And Families. New York, 9 January 2012.
Hagger, M., Hardcastle, S., Hingley, C., Strickland, E., Pang, J., & Watts, G. (2016). Predicting Self-Management Behaviors in Familial Hypercholesterolemia Using an Integrated Theoretical Model: the Impact of Beliefs About Illnesses and Beliefs About Behaviors. International Journal Of Behavioral Medicine , 23 (3), 282-294. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-015-9531-x
Hancock, Kelly. Growing and Developing a More Diverse Nursing Workforce. Cleveland, 20 February 2020.
Mendes, A. (2015). The role of nurses' and patients' personal beliefs in nursing care. British Journal Of Nursing , 24 (6), 345-345. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2015.24.6.345
