Herritage Assesment - 1019 Words

Running head: Heritage Assessment Heritage Assessment Caridad Doucet Grand Canyon University: NRS-429V Family Centered Health Promotions Melva Bost RN, MS August 26, 2012 Heritage Assessment The United States has become a multicultural country. Everywhere you look, you see a plethora of cultures that range from Hispanic and African to Asian and American Indian. The varied traditions and beliefs of a multicultural country impact how nurses implement patient-centered care. The best way to provide optimal care in nursing is to become better informed in how different cultures view health maintenance, protection, and restoration. The Heritage Assessment is a wonderful tool to obtain information that can be used†¦show more content†¦The nurse is also married to a man from a different ethnicity (White -Anglo). The nurse’s mother was more traditional; she believed in herbal treatments for minor ailments like colds, ear aches, tooth aches, rashes, headaches and doctors for major illness like heart attacks, Diabetes, and Cancer. The nurse’s grandparents were from Mexico on father’s side and Arizona on Mother’s side. The n urse’s native language is Spanish, but the nurse is more comfortable with English because that is used more in home, work and among friends. One stereotype that is broken with this nurse is that most Hispanics are catholic and celebrate holidays from Mexico. Being born and raised in Tucson, Arizona meant celebrations are more about the United States like the fourth of July, Veterans Day and Valentine’s Day. This nurse interviewed individuals with the following races according to Smith: African American-Kenyan, Asian-Filipino, and Hispanic-Mexican American. It was interesting to note that although the three cultures studied spoke different language and was from different parts of the world, religion and deep family ties were highly valued. All three families shared the same religion, bible reading, praying and celebrating religious holidays. The differences came from where the families were born. The Nurse was born in the United States and the African family was born in Kenya. The Filipino family was born in the Philippines. The African and the