Time Control: Coping with Late Patients and No-Shows

Posted by Marcia Carteret, M. Ed. on Apr 5, 2013 in Blog, Key Concepts in Cross-Cultural Communications, Patient Compliance, Special Topics, Talking to Patients | 0 comments In many private pediatric and family practices, as well as the Child Health Clinic at Children’s Hospital Colorado, providers and staff talk about the challenges of working with patients and families who show up very late for appointments – or no-show entirely.   A Cross-Cultural Perspective Remember that people’s sense of time and time management is very much culturally based. A...
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Culturally-based Attitudes About Healthcare Contribute to Patient “No-Show” Rates

Posted by Marcia Carteret, M. Ed. on Apr 5, 2013 in Cultural Health Beliefs + Behaviors, Patient Compliance, Special Topics, Talking to Patients | 0 comments American medical culture is “clocktime” driven, and while time is money for nearly every business in our society, a medical practice lives by its schedule of appointments more than most. While socio-economic challenges clearly contribute to no-show rates for people from all cultures, specific cultural beliefs do further increase the number of appointment no-shows. The steep learning...
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How Culture Affects Oral Health Beliefs and Behaviors

Posted by Marcia Carteret, M. Ed. on Jan 31, 2013 in Cultural Health Beliefs + Behaviors, Immigrant and Refugee Health, Special Topics | 0 comments Each February, the American Dental Association (ADA) sponsors National Children’s Dental Health Month to raise awareness about the importance of oral health. Developing good habits at an early age and scheduling regular dental visits helps children get a good start on a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums. Good oral health contributes significantly to overall good health during a...
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Manage Your Speech to Save Time and Be More Effective with Telephone Interpreters

Posted by Marcia Carteret, M. Ed. on Jan 31, 2013 in Immigrant and Refugee Health, Non-English Speaking Patients, Patient Compliance, Special Topics, Talking to Patients | 0 comments Communication in health care settings is inherently challenging, even when providers and patients/families share the same cultural background and speak the same language. Consider the following: Health care professionals speak “medicine.” The complex technical nature of their language doesn’t always translate easily into plain English. Adding to the challenge of translating medical...
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Developing a Cross-Cultural Mindset

Posted by Marcia Carteret, M. Ed. on Mar 22, 2012 in Blog, Key Concepts in Cross-Cultural Communications | 0 comments Memorizing lists of dos and don’ts per culture is impractical and leads to stereotyping. When we stereotype people we tend to apply characteristics rigidly, as if to say that ALL people from a particular culture believe the same things and behave in the same ways. This simply does not leave room for the great variety in human experience, individual personality, and so on. To begin building an...
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Providing Healthcare to Hmong Patients and Families

Posted by Marcia Carteret, M. Ed. on Jan 9, 2012 in Asian Cultures, Culture-Specific Topics, Immigrant and Refugee Health | 0 comments Who Are the Hmong People in America? The Hmong (pronounced hmung with a very soft h) in the United States are a relatively small southeast Asian minority group who began living here at the close of the Vietnam war. Due to their unique cultural beliefs and indigenous practices, Hmong refugees settled in the United States often present a unique set of challenges to healthcare professionals. As a...
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