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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Health Care for African American Patients/Families

Posted by Marcia Carteret, M. Ed. on May 16, 2011 in African American Culture | 4 comments The following cultural patterns may represent many African Americans, but do not represent all people in a community. Families that have immigrated recently from Africa have very different cultures compared to families that have been in the US for many generations.  Get to know your patient and their families on an individual level. Not all patients from diverse populations conform to commonly...
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Cultural Values of Latino Patients and Families

Posted by Marcia Carteret, M. Ed. on Mar 15, 2011 in Latino Cultures | 7 comments Failure to understand and respond appropriately to the normative cultural values of patients can have a variety of adverse clinical consequences: reduced participation in  preventive screenings, delayed immunizations, inaccurate histories, use of harmful remedies, non-compliance, and decreased satisfaction with care to name a few. A primary challenge in working with patients from different...
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The Importance of Familismo

Posted by Marcia Carteret, M. Ed. on Nov 3, 2010 in Culture-Specific Topics, Latino Cultures | 2 comments by Janine Young, MD— The importance of immediate and extended family ties are very important to the Latino community—otherwise known as familismo. The mother, father, grandparents, aunts and uncles may come to their children’s doctor visits, and all may have some say in how the child will be cared for. Grandmothers (la abuela), in particular, often play a strong role in how their...
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Clinical Pediatrics in the Mexican Immigrant Community

Posted by Marcia Carteret, M. Ed. on Nov 3, 2010 in Culture-Specific Topics, Latino Cultures, Special Topics | 0 comments by Janine Young, MD www.contemporarypediatrics.com Vol. 26, No. 2— The US continues to be a country of immigrants. As of 2006, roughly 37.5 million immigrants (documented and undocumented) were living in the US, accounting for 12.5% of the total population. Of these, 30% were from Mexico.1 These new immigrant families bring with them their language, culture, and religious beliefs. And they...
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