Chapter 10: Cultural Competence: Awareness, Sensitivity, and Respect

Think for a while about cultural practices and how they affect health or illness in your own family. They may be difficult to identify as such at first, but they do exist. What ideas about illness prevention does your family adhere to? What do you do when someone gets sick? What rituals does your family practice when someone dies?

Answer preview

Culture has a vast influence on health through the way it affects how a family perceives health, causes of illness and death, how illnesses are treated, among others (Greenhalgh, 2016). The culture of my family reflects Christian beliefs as well as the traditional beliefs upheld by our ancestors. My family believes that illness is caused by natural causes and unfavorable environmental conditions, such as…