Cultural competency is considered to be a major factor to eliminating health disparities. This begins with having an honest desire to put aside personal biases and treat every person with respect (Edelman, Kudzma & Mandle, 2014). Culture could "have an impact on health, healing, wellness, belief systems, perceived causes of illness and disease, behaviors of seeking health care and attitudes towards health care providers" (Edelman, Kudzma & Mandle, 2014). It is a must that people working in health care are cultural competent.
Certain cultural beliefs and values have an influence on what health decisions are made and need to be taken into consideration (GCU, 2011). Health care providers as well as patients bring their own beliefs to health, values and culture when seeking health care. It is important to understand all cultures; however, it can be challenging because of the complexity and the interaction between the person that is seeking help and the providers own cultural beliefs (Edelman, Kudzma & Mandle, 2014). Being aware of the many different cultures means that you need to apply the underlying background of knowledge that must be obtained to deliver the best quality of care (GCU, 2011).
Health care professionals, when respectful of and responsive to diverse individual's health beliefs, their practices and cultural needs, are believed to contribute to a decline in negative health outcomes (Edelman, Kudzma & Mandle, 2014). By recognizing and accepting all cultural diversities, providers can obtain cultural competency in the health care setting. It is important that everyone in the health care setting can recognize and understand the many differences of their culture as well as the culture of others and to respect the values and beliefs and the expectations that others may have. Health professionals need to recognize that everyone has different beliefs and come from different cultures. It is important to recognize other cultures and to remember that every culture is different.
References
Edelman, C., Kudzma, E., & Mandle, C. (n.d.). Emerging Populations and Health. In Health Promotion Throughout the Lifespan (8th ed., pp. 26). Retrieved from
https://pageburstls.elsevier.com/#/books/978-0-323-09141-1/cfi/6/8!/4/2/36/8/8@0:88.9
Grand Canyon University [GCU]. (2011). Culture and Cultural Competency in Health Promotion. Retrieved from
https://lc-ugrad1.gcu.edu/learningPlatform/user/users.html?operation=loggedIn#/learningPlatform/loudBooks/loudbooks.html?viewPage=current¤tTopicname=Culture and Cultural Competency in Health Promotion&operation=innerPage&topicMaterialId=f21e44c0-ba1b-4324-98f8-26e542293a7e&contentId=9a059ef8-3451-4808-9ca8-65da38a061ee&