Cultural Diversity In Canada Essay

Cultural diversities and competencies in work Setting

In 2006, people emigrating from Asia and the Middle East made up the largest proportion (58.3%) of newcomers to Canada (Statistics Canada, 2008a). People born in Europe constituted the second largest group (16.1%) of recent immigrants. The next largest groups were from India (≈11.6%), Central and South America and the Caribbean (10.8%), Africa (10.6%), and the Philippines (7%).” Canada has always embraced diversity which made Canada a very unique country. As Canada’s Multiculturism Act enacted in 1988, enshrines the enhancement and preservation of multiculturism in Canada, which according to Canada’s Charter Right and Freedom is a basic human right and freedom since it outshines

From these group, Italian culture also stands out in the history of Canada. Italian Canadians are amongst the earliest Europeans to have visited and settled in Canada. In 2006 , 60% of Italian Canadian lived in Ontario, 21% in Quebec and 10% in British Columbia. Italian culture is rich with music, dance and cuisine surrounded by relatives and family members. The Italian ethnicity in Canada is closely connected with Roman Catholism which believes in fertility but disregards abortion and artificial contraception. The Italian concepts of Health and Wellness for pain is unnatural or deficient, difficulty in breathing as dying,and fatigue as depression. Health practices like using alternative therapies like massage, acupuncture and homeopathic medicine is common. Home remedies like lemon for cold and flu,using garlic for high blood pressure and boiling bay leaves with some lemon rind to cure stomach ache.Some Italian believes that stomach is sacred place for food and prefers injections instead of medications. For coping skills, Italian sees death as passage way and believes in life after death. Extended family is a general concept of Italian culture and a helping hand from loved ones helps the client to cope with pain and gives positive encouragement for the client to heal. Under the Third Commandment of Roman Catholicism, it states that attending mass on Sunday is a must which is also important in

Being a healthcare provider, comes certain obligations to provide cultural sensitive care and focused care by respecting the values and beliefs of a client. For instance, a palliative client who believes in attending mass in church every Sunday seems sad and disappointed in himself because of the circumstances. So, in this situation, a nurse has to use proper relational approach to provide collaborative communication to the client by being initiave ,authentic and in synch. A nurse should be aware that spiritual need increases when health declines so proper research on client’s culture is needed and initiating the conversation by using proper body language like direct eye contact and a gentle touch is important because in Italian culture, direct eye contact defines genuine and touch resembles caring. For the sake of client’s spiritual health, a nurse should find a way to provide an environment for the client to pray without discomforting other clients. A cultural competency decrease the cultural sensitive issue and elevates the therapeutic nurse-client relationship. The possible challenge for a nurse while providing cultural sensitive care could be unable to acquire in-depth culture knowledge, lack of experience and fear. To address these challenges, a nurse should obtain obtain broad knowledge of how culture can