Cultural Health
Encyclopedia
Cultural health is an education discipline, that facilitates being in possession of accurate cultural information, leading to a productive psychosocial orientation to a culture or cultures. Cultural Health implies intra, and/or inter, cultural competence
sufficient to produce effective Cross-cultural
communication. Cultural health has slightly different meanings depending on the context it is used in. This phrase is most often used in a people context and/or a professional context.
The people or personal context can be seen in discussions regarding National and Ethnic Cultural health.
National: is focused on sufficient cultural literacy
about the values, interests and principles of the Nation, a person or group lives in.
Ethnic: is focused on having sufficient cultural literacy about the values, interests and principles of the ethnic group a person belongs to or interacts with.
The other context for cultural health is more profession oriented then people oriented. The two professions most interested in cultural health in this context are the medical profession and education profession.
Medical: is focused on the cultural competence
of medical professionals and organizations as required in the United States
by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations JCAHO. The paradigm shift taking place in the medical profession, asserts that the health care provider that is culturally competent with respect to their patients will deliver more effective healthcare.
Educational: is focused on the cultural literacy of its professionals and students. This is easily observed in the many new curricula that have relatively recently been implemented at United States colleges and universities. The Curriculum of inclusion, African studies
, Asian studies
, European studies
, Ethnic studies
and other formal curriculum have the intent of improving cultural health.
Cultural competence
Cultural competence refers to an ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures, particularly in the context of human resources, non-profit organizations, and government agencies whose employees work with persons from different cultural/ethnic backgrounds.Cultural competence...
sufficient to produce effective Cross-cultural
Cross-cultural
cross-cultural may refer to*cross-cultural studies, a comparative tendency in various fields of cultural analysis*cross-cultural communication, a field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds communicate...
communication. Cultural health has slightly different meanings depending on the context it is used in. This phrase is most often used in a people context and/or a professional context.
The people or personal context can be seen in discussions regarding National and Ethnic Cultural health.
National: is focused on sufficient cultural literacy
Cultural literacy
Cultural literacy is familiarity with and ability to understand the idioms, allusions, and informal content that create and constitute a dominant culture. From being familiar with street signs to knowing historical references to understanding the most recent slang, literacy demands interaction with...
about the values, interests and principles of the Nation, a person or group lives in.
Ethnic: is focused on having sufficient cultural literacy about the values, interests and principles of the ethnic group a person belongs to or interacts with.
The other context for cultural health is more profession oriented then people oriented. The two professions most interested in cultural health in this context are the medical profession and education profession.
Medical: is focused on the cultural competence
Cultural competence
Cultural competence refers to an ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures, particularly in the context of human resources, non-profit organizations, and government agencies whose employees work with persons from different cultural/ethnic backgrounds.Cultural competence...
of medical professionals and organizations as required in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations JCAHO. The paradigm shift taking place in the medical profession, asserts that the health care provider that is culturally competent with respect to their patients will deliver more effective healthcare.
Educational: is focused on the cultural literacy of its professionals and students. This is easily observed in the many new curricula that have relatively recently been implemented at United States colleges and universities. The Curriculum of inclusion, African studies
African studies
African studies is the study of Africa, especially the cultures and societies of Africa .The field includes the study of:Culture of Africa, History of Africa , Anthropology of Africa , Politics of Africa, Economy of Africa African studies is the study of Africa, especially the cultures and...
, Asian studies
Asian studies
Asian studies, a term used usually in the United States for Oriental studies and is concerned with the Asian peoples, their cultures, languages, history and politics...
, European studies
European studies
European studies is a field of study offered by many academic colleges and universities that focuses on current developments in European integration....
, Ethnic studies
Ethnic studies
Ethnic studies is the interdisciplinary study of racialized peoples in the world in relation to ethnicity. It evolved in the second half of the 20th century partly in response to charges that traditional disciplines such as anthropology, history, English, ethnology, Asian studies, and orientalism...
and other formal curriculum have the intent of improving cultural health.