Revista de Gestión Empresarial y Hotelera

The Cultural Diversity in Health care

Sepideh Moussavi 

Today, globally, every 2 minutes, a child dies of malaria. And each year, more than 200 million new cases of the disease are reported. Every year Measles is killing more than 2 million people. The disease remains one of the leading causes of death among young children under the age of five in many developing countries. Worldwide, ending Polio still remains a problem at large. For all these diseases and many other health issues alike, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine/ treatment, cultural values, traditional beliefs and religious perspectives are causing major challenges confronting them. In developing countries, public opinions about healthcare include varied and deep-seated beliefs, a result of the tension between divergent cultural viewpoints and value systems. Several key cultural perspectives stem from (1) individual rights and public health stances toward vaccination, (2) various religious standpoints and objections such as attitude towards suffering and etiology of illness, etc and (3) unfamiliarity, suspicion and mistrust of western medical methods and medicine, are some of the challenges faced by medical professionals. In many developed countries, over the past couple of decades, the demographics have changed considerably. The world is currently in the midst of the largest refugee crisis since World War II. An unprecedented 70.8 million people have been forcibly displaced worldwide, and 37,000 people are forced to flee their homes every day. In today’s multicultural world, a patient/ person’s cultural background can have a profound impact on health care, and professionals need to be aware of this. Today, globally, every 2 minutes, a child dies of malaria. And each year, more than 200 million new cases of the disease are reported. Every year Measles is killing more than 2 million people. The disease remains one of the leading causes of death among young children under the age of five in many developing countries. Worldwide, ending Polio still remains a problem at large. For all these diseases and many other health issues alike, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine/ treatment, cultural values, traditional beliefs and religious perspectives are causing major challenges confronting them. In developing countries, public opinions about healthcare include varied and deep-seated beliefs, a result of the tension between divergent cultural viewpoints and value systems. Several key cultural perspectives stem from (1) individual rights and public health stances toward vaccination, (2) various religious standpoints and objections such as attitude towards suffering and etiology of illness, etc and (3) unfamiliarity, suspicion and mistrust of western medical methods and medicine, are some of the challenges faced by medical professionals. In many developed countries, over the past couple of decades, the demographics have changed considerably. The world is currently in the midst of the largest refugee crisis since World War II. An unprecedented 70.8 million people have been forcibly displaced worldwide, and 37,000 people are forced to flee their homes every day. In today’s multicultural world, a patient/ person’s cultural background can have a profound impact on health care, and professionals need to be aware of this.