This paper involves the case of a middle-aged woman who was admitted to the hospital with signs of scarlet fever. After several diagnostic tests, the doctor recommended that she should take one tablet of Penicillin V after every 8 hours for three weeks. She received her medication as prescribed; however, after three days, she refused to take her medication. The patient wanted a monk to come to the hospital to conduct a Buddhist prayer for her.
According to the patient, the dry, itchy patches on her skin, sore throat, and recurrent fever were caused by voodoo spells cast on her by villagers in her home country. She insisted that prayers from a Buddhist monk would cast out the spell and help her recover from the condition. Moreover, the patient requested that her eldest brother and few relatives be allowed in the ward during the prayers.
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After interaction with the patient, it was quite evident that she was health illiterate. When the doctor explained that, a bacterial infection was the underlying cause to her sore throat and skin patches, she seemed not to understand what bacteria are. The doctor had to explain to her the meaning of bacteria in layman’s language. Moreover, she did not understand her prescription, so I had to help her adhere to the recommended dosage.
Since the patient Asian health beliefs and cultures conformist, it was quite difficult to convince her that her illness was a medical condition and not a ritualistic spell. With consent from my supervisors and advanced practice nurses, I implemented a culture-based approach and allowed the monk, her brother, and other family members see her at once, although only two people should see a patient at a time. My action to allow the prayers and more than two visitors at a time was based on Josepha Campinha-Bacote theory. Josepha Campinha-Bacote theory directs healthcare providers to provide culturally responsive services to patients (Andrews et al., 2018).
Reference
Andrews, M., Backstrand, J. R., Boyle, J. S., Campinha-Bacote, J., Davidhizar, R. E., Doutrich, D., ... & Jeffreys, M. R. (2018). Chapter 3: Theoretical basis for transcultural care. Journal of Transcultural Nursing , 21 (4_suppl), 53S-136S.
