Investigation of Cultural Awareness, Sensitivity and Occupational Therapy - Assignment Example

Topic: Lecturer: Presentation: Introduction Culture is a system of shared and learned values, beliefs, attitudes and customs that shape an individuals behaviour and perceptions of various symbols. Culture is diverse and depends on established code of behaviour by a society, community or group of people. It involves elements such as language, norms, values, beliefs, religion, social collectives, statuses and roles as well as integration of different cultural elements (Galanti & Woods, 2007). Culture is important in enabling individuals to acquire identity and interact with other people. Realization of one’s culture and other peoples’ culture constitutes cultural awareness. People interpret things differently and it is important to understand the reason why so that interaction with others is made easy. When we understand ourselves and others we are then able to identify and appreciate the similarities and differences between various cultures hence we become cultural sensitive. This is important in the field of occupational therapy as it helps therapists to understand their patients’ diverse cultures, interact with them and help them to overcome challenges. Occupational therapy focuses on helping people with physical and mental disabilities as well as behavioural problems that hinder proper growth and development. To acquire cultural competence, therapists should be able to appreciate cultural diversity and work effectively with people from other cultures. According to Murden et al (2008), a research carried out to detect the awareness and sensitivity of occupational therapists showed that therapists understood the importance of cultural awareness in dealing with patients. However, this research did not take into account the factors that influence cultural competence prompting debate as to what constitutes competency and how to incorporate cultural awareness in actual practice. This paper is a critique of student occupational therapists’ perception of cultural awareness hence the need to have an in depth analysis of cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity and occupational therapy. Cultural Awareness It entails being aware of a person’s cultural values, beliefs, behaviour and interpretation of various symbols and how they impact on his/her life. People are socialized into a culture through interaction with members of the society or being taught by parents right from birth. They then start behaving, reasoning and perceiving things in a certain way as dictated by culture. As people grow up, they begin understanding the reasons behind all their actions although some are individual attributes and have nothing to do with cultural norms, beliefs or values (Rasmussen et al. 2005). They then interact with others from different cultures in social settings like schools and realise the diversity of culture. They realize that other people behave and perceive things differently and what is perceived to be good in their culture may be bad to another. As they interact, they learn and take up new ideas and discard the bad ones hence forming a new culture which they feel is most appropriate and passes it on to future generations. Cultural awareness helps individuals to explore cultural issues of patients more sensibly (Cheung et al. 2002). Verghese (2006) emphasizes the need to consider various factors for proper integration with others. The most important is to be aware of ones own cultural influences that dictate the relationship with others and not judge others according to own culture. Understanding that individual factors play a part in shaping a person therefore it not right to generalise or stereotype a person is vital. Culture is dynamic and changes from generation to generation due to influences like globalization and advancement in education hence it is not a standard measure of values and beliefs. One can always learn about other cultures from various sources and familiarise with them and use communication skills to interact with others and learn more from them. If all these factors are observed, then people would be a step further towards cultural competence. Cultural Sensitivity It is a state of awareness of cultural diversity and appreciating the similarities and differences that exist between cultures (Stafford et al. 1997). It is about adapting to cultural norms of other cultures and willingness to learn more about other cultures but first one has to value and recognize his/her culture and how it affects others. In health care provision, a nurse or doctor interacts with patients of diverse cultures especially in US. In order to diagnose those patients, it is important to understand their cultural history, values and beliefs, how they perceive sickness and many other factors (Goodgold & Dupre, 2007). A nurse also has to realise how his/her behaviour is affecting patients and try to change and accommodate them by listening and interacting with them. Communication is an effective tool to break any barriers that exist between a doctor and patient. Galanti & Woods (2007) notes that patients gain trust and follow instructions from the doctor when they feel that he/she understands, respects and treats them as individuals with independent values and beliefs. Cultural sensitivity is essential especially in occupation therapy as it enhances cooperation between therapist and patient. By understanding the patient and not stereotyping him/her, the patient feels comfortable with the therapist and this accelerates rate of recovery (Galanti & Woods, 2007). The therapist also is able to work effectively by removing barriers though not all can be removed. Language barrier can be overcome by use of interpreter and this is important as all relationships are based on good communication skills. Therapists are also able to understand themselves better and improve on areas they feel are not perfect hence gain competence in their work while the patients gain satisfaction. Occupational Therapy This is treatment geared towards helping people to improve on their cognitive, physical and motor skills needed for proper growth and development. Therapists also address psychological, social and environmental factors that hinder development of an individual or proper interaction with members of society (Crepeau et al. 2003). These defects could be mental illness or behaviour disorders, physical disabilities or delayed development among others. These individuals are disadvantaged and need specialized care so that they can fit in society. Occupational therapists are very crucial to the disadvantaged individuals as they guide them on their daily activities. Some conduct physical exercises to the patients to improve motor skills while others help children in a school setting to improve on their learning abilities. The duties of therapists are diverse and hence the need to gain competence on their work. They also work with people of different ages, sex, languages and religious beliefs and hence understanding of the patients’ history and culture is very crucial if they have to succeed (Galanti & Woods, 2007). Occupation therapists deal with individuals of diverse cultures prompting the need for education on cultural awareness and sensitivity. This field is very sensitive and its success depends on the relationship between therapist and patient. They help people to acquire cognitive skills and therefore it is essential to understand the patients’ culture so as not to instil undesirable elements in the person. Verghese (2006) observes that sometimes therapists work in home settings and need to relate well with those families so as to get desirable results. Competency in this field of health means being able to work effectively with patients from diverse cultural backgrounds. Recently debate has been going on as to whether inclusion of cultural awareness as a subject in the curriculum produces desired effect on occupational students’ competency or being assimilated in actual field of practice produces better results (Cheung et al. 2002). Occupational Therapy Students’ Perception of Cultural Awareness. A study carried out on occupational students through use of cultural awareness and sensitivity questionnaire showed that students were aware of the existence of diverse cultures and the importance of cultural awareness and sensitivity in a culturally competent practice. However, it showed that the students lacked exposure to cultural issues which are only present in the actual contact between the student and patient (Murden et al. 2008). Learning about culture is not a heavy task but applying the knowledge in the field is an enormous task which the students should be exposed to in order to gain experience. To develop a competent practice, therapists need to interact with patients, listen to them and learn from them how they view different situations and look at these situations in their own view and be able to come up with a solution. By learning in a classroom setting, this is not possible since a patient has to communicate and the therapist has to understand the patient. A therapist only needs to interact with patients of diverse cultures to gain cultural awareness and sensitivity (Whiteford & St-Clair, 2002). The current literature on occupational therapy and cultural awareness emphasizes the need for cultural competency which is the ability to work effectively as individuals in an environment of diverse cultures and leads to competent practice (Rundle et al. 2002). A qualitative research focussed on occupational therapy students’ ability to work with people from diverse cultural background showed that hands-on experience in field work was the most important in producing desired results (Goodgold & Dupre, 2007). For competency to occur, a practitioner should understand his/her values and those of other cultures and appreciate the difference and be able to adapt to other peoples cultures. Culture is influenced by various factors such as language, socioeconomic background, diet, type of housing, family structure and socialization. A competent therapist should be able to understand the influence of these factors on patients so as to understand them and interact effectively with them for good results. According to Goodgold & Dupre (2007), competency develops in stages along a continuum (adapted from Cross et al. 1992). The first stage is cultural destructiveness whereby individuals believe in supremacy of their culture and eliminating the minority culture. Cultural differences are not appreciated and these individuals thus try to destroy culture. The next stage in this continuum is cultural incapacity whereby individuals believe in superiority of their ethnic group. They do not care about people of other cultural groupings instead; they enforce their policies on them. Cultural blindness stage practice equality of all, no one is superior. They don’t have cultural awareness and hence don’t see any difference in culture. Cultural pre-competence is a positive stage whereby individuals start gaining cultural awareness. These individuals strive towards quality service delivery but lack knowledge on ways to move on. The second last level is cultural competence. In this stage cultural differences are appreciated as well as understanding of self and this helps to serve others better. The last stage is proficiency whereby cultural diversity is held in high esteem. Cultural knowledge is enlarged by conducting research and developing new therapeutic approaches and disseminating information. Cultural competency is important in helping therapists to cater for the needs of their patients effectively. The current debate therefore is geared towards acquiring cultural competency for occupational therapist students by immersing them in actual practice like in community based programmes (Goodgold & Dupre, 2007). Their cultural awareness is also raised to curb ethnocentrism and advocate for patient centred healthcare. Exposure to cultural issues determines how learning experiences are organized and also determine clinical competence. A curriculum should enhance students’ knowledge, beliefs and attitudes and this becomes the challenge for many lecturers since no guidelines are offered. To tackle these challenges, teachers offer seminars to students regarding culture or even introduce a course on importance of cultural consideration in healthcare although this is not enough. When a student is engaged in actual practice during learning process, he/she graduates as a culturally competent person who is ready and able to handle any type of occupational therapy patient regardless of cultural background. A student is able to handle patients well by asking them questions which do not hurt their feelings but give information regarding cultural history of that patient. The therapist therefore understands the patients well and the process of healing is enhanced. According to Lynch & Hanson (2004), a culturally competent therapist can also work in any environment regardless of social status of patients or other influences on behaviour. The therapist will have acquired new patterns of behaviour through exposure and hence can apply them effectively in appropriate settings. The current literature thus emphasizes on evidence based approach of learning so as to acquire proper knowledge and skills that can help a therapist in developing cultural awareness and competence in a diverse culture setting. Conclusion Culture is a broad issue and has no standard definition. It entails a system of learned and shared values, beliefs and attitudes that shape and influence perception and behaviour. Culture is not biological but is learned through parents and old people. Cultural awareness, sensitivity and competency are very crucial in the field of occupational therapy as it entails dealing with patients of very diverse cultures. It also requires interaction with patients on a daily basis hence a therapist needs to adapt to the culture of patients so as to speed up the healing process. For effective practice in this field, students need to learn through experience by interacting with sick people and this enhances their cultural awareness and competence. References Cheung,Y.,Shah, S.Muncer, S. 2002. “An Exploratory Investigation of Undergraduate Students’ Perception of Cultural Awareness”. The British Journal of Occupational Therapy .Vol. 65, 12 pp.543-550(8). Crepeau, E., Cohn, E., Barbara, A., Schell, B. 2003. Willard and Sparkman’s Occupational Therapy. 10 ed. U.S.A: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Galanti, G. and Woods, M. 2007. Cultural Sensitivity: A Pocket Guide for Healthcare Professionals, 5 Pack. Illinois: Joint Commission Resources. Goodgold, S. and Dupre, A. 2007. “Development of Physical Therapy Student Cultural Competency through International Community Service”. Journal of Cultural Diversity. Vol. 14, 3. Lynch, W., Hanson, M. 2004. Developing Cross-cultural Competence: A Guide for Working with Children and their Families.3 ed. Baltimore: Brooks publishing. Murden, R., Norman, A., Ross, J., Sturdivant, E., Kedia, M.and Shah, S. 2008. “Occupational Therapy Students’ Perception of their Cultural Awareness and Competency”. Occupational Therapy International. Vol. 15, 3 pp.191-203. Rasmussen, M., Lloyd, C., Wietandt, T. 2005. “Cultural Awareness among Queensland Undergraduate Occupational Therapy Students”. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal. Vol. 52, 4 pp. 302-310. Rundle, A., Carvalho, M.,Robinson, M.eds. 2002. Cultural Competence in Healthcare: A Practical Guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Stafford, R., Bowman, R., Ewing, T., Hanna, J., Lopez-DeFede, A. 1997. Building Cultural Bridges. Bloomington: National Education Series. Verghese, T. 2006. The Invisible Elephant-Exploring Cultural Awareness. San Francisco: Synergistic press. Whiteford, G., St-Clair, W. 2002. “Being Prepared for Diversity in Practice: Occupational Therapist Students’ Perceptions of Valuable Intercultural Learning Experiences”. The British Journal of Occupational Therapy. Vol. 65, 3 pp 129-137(9). Read More