Healthy People 2020: Cultural Diversity In The United States

“Why is it crucial as a student to learn about cultural competency”? The reason is due to the increasing cultural diversity in the United States. This increasing cultural diversity in the United States has resulted in the national health objective proposed in Healthy People 2020: achieving the highest level of health for all people by addressing societal inequalities and “historical and contemporary injustices” (Giddens, 2013, pp. 33). The belief is that all people deserve quality health care and access to care no matter what culture the individual may be. Giddens states that culturally competent care means conveying acceptance of the patient’s health beliefs while sharing information, encouraging self- efficiency, and strengthening the patient’s

Vietnamese values focus on spirituality, education, family and humanism. Family loyalty plays a very important role in the conduct of members of the family. Elderly people are of highest standing in the family. The Vietnamese man is a humble, and hardworking man, his role is of higher status than his wife. Being the main source of income for the family, when he receives money he will hand it over to his wife to help pay for bills and food. He is also responsible for the education of his children. This picture of a typical Vietnamese man has a number of elements of the typical “good husband” in America (Thuy,1976, pp. 24). As with women in Vietnam are of low standing in society, married women are expected to respect and be faithful to their husbands. Their role is to stay home. The women have a very limited education and depend on the husband’s income. Buddhism is the predominant religion. Other religions in Vietnam include Confucianism, which strongly advocates for humanism. Taoism is influenced by believing in many different Gods and the last religion is Roman Catholicism. Vietnamese are a very polite and sensitive soft spoken people speaking Austroasiatic language. It is a sign of impoliteness to look at them straight in the eyes. In any social contact, they prize good manners above all, and judge you to a large extent by

Yoost states that nutritional balance has a significant impact on the normal growth, development, function, and maintenance of the body. Many Buddhists are vegetarian or vegan due to the1st precept and respect for other sentient beings. Some may have taken a precept which involves eating only one main meal a day. Both the Vietnamese and South African culture practice Buddhist, so being familiar with how to care for this patient is essential. Vegetarian and vegan diets need to include food sources that provide protein, iron, calcium, and zinc. Vegans are at higher risk to develop pernicious anemia and should supplement the diet with vitamin B12 to minimize the risk (Yoost, pp. 688). Another intervention to focus on would be communication and teaching, with both cultures an interpreter may be needed. The nurse must respect their values and follow some of the guidelines that are valued by their culture to be able to provide