Culturalcare: Heritage, health, habits

Title: Culturalcare: Heritage, health, habits

Abstract:

It is a given that in the practice of professional nursing – in clinical areas and/or in education - we encounter people with countless approaches to health and health care that differ from contemporary, modern health beliefs and practices.  CulturalCare is a concept that describes holistic health care that is culturally sensitive, culturally appropriate, and culturally competent.  It is predicated on the knowledge derived from a comprehension of these differences and is critical to meeting the complex needs of a given person, family, and community.  This overview presentation describes why there may be piercing differences in health perceptions by discussing the concepts of heritage, traditional definitions of health, and examples of traditional health practices.

Biography:

Dr. Spector is the author of several books, including Cultural Diversity in Health and Illness, now in its 9th edition, Cultural Care: Guides to Heritage Assessment and Health Traditions; and Las Culturas de la SALUD, published in Spain (2003) and a text in the Chinese Traditional Language (2007). She is continuing her ongoing research in cultural diversity as it relates to traditional HEALTH beliefs and practices. Her work focuses on developing and teaching models of effective nursing care or “CULTURALCARE," (a concept that describes holistic HEALTH care that is culturally sensitive, culturally appropriate, and culturally competent) in multicultural populations.