Diversity in Practice - Essay Example

The cultural issues include the ethnic profile of African Americans in the United States; being a teen-ager at 16 years of age; and where Stephanie has not confided to her mother Rose that she was pregnant. From one’s research, an article written by Sanders & Bradley (2005) it was disclosed that different researchers acknowledge African Americans girls being exposed to risk factors that increase preponderance to “teen pregnancy, low academic achievement, self-esteem, violence, and substance use” (Sanders & Bradley, 2005, p. 299). As emphasized, “using a culturally specific definition of physical attractiveness and its relationship to personal worth allows researchers to analyze the effects of gender, race, and ethnicity on developmental issues for African American girls” (Sanders & Bradley, 2005, p. 300). Likewise, another research study written by Kramer & Lancaster (2010) indicated that “although teen pregnancy is commonly associated with increased maternal risks of low birth weight, obstetrical complications, fetal and neonatal mortality, the magnitude and cause of pregnancy complications among teens remains controversial” (p. 618). .

cy intervention centers on the idea that, where there is concentrated poverty, there appears to be a related concentration of adolescent pregnancy of epidemic proportions in communities associated with having greater community social disorganization and, therein, limited educational and economic opportunities for young people” (Gentry, Nolte, Gonzales, Pearson, & Ivey, 2010, p. 25). In this regard, as medical social worker, one could evaluate the community within which both Rose and Stephanie belongs to in order to determine the social condition that could be contributory to Stephanie’s untimely pregnancy, lack of educational knowledge and support, opting to go through the process without the knowledge of Rose or her parents, and the risks that led to the development of complications. b. Based on the results of your literature search and your personal and/or professional experience, what approach would you take with this family to demonstrate cultural competency in your work?

Cultural competence in one’s work as a medical social worker is crucial in terms of enabling one to effectively assess the health condition of the patients, in conjunction with factors that are deemed instrumental in contracting the illnesses, diseases, or health concerns. In the case of Stephanie and Rose, it was evident that their cultural orientation as African Americans within Atlanta could possibly fall within the community described in the article written by Gentry, Nolte, Gonzales, Pearson, & Ivey (2010).

As emphasized, “becoming more intentional in approaches to communities where concentrated adolescent pregnancy exists has great potential for reducing the socioeconomic and health impacts associated with high rates of adolescent pregnancy. Thus, the need for relevant early