How culture influences health beliefs
Competencia cultural
337 cuidadores de niños (85% mujeres) que acudían a consultas de atención sanitaria preventiva en centros de atención primaria respondieron a cuestionarios sobre creencias acerca de los médicos, discriminación percibida, emociones y estados afectivos y consecuencias de la evitación en salud.
Las creencias negativas sobre los profesionales sanitarios se asocian directamente con las conductas de evitación en salud y la discriminación percibida. Esta última percepción no tiene efectos directos sobre las conductas de evitación, pero tiene un efecto indirecto a través de las emociones negativas asociadas a la discriminación.
Las desigualdades en salud generan una asociación más fuerte entre la discriminación percibida e indicadores de salud física4,5, problemas de hipertensión arterial6 y desenlaces en salud negativos, tales como mayor mortalidad7. En relación con la salud mental, las personas que indican haber sentido discriminación presentan mayor depresión, manía/hipomanía, trastornos de estrés postraumático, trastorno de ansiedad generalizado y fobia social8-10.
How do beliefs influence culture?
Within culture, beliefs guide (but do not always condition) practices; and these in turn can modify beliefs. Thus, culture acts as a dynamic guide that orients and modulates human group coexistence.
How do people's beliefs influence health?
It was found that both beliefs and health care practices originate and develop within the social context, influence each other and are part of the dynamic character that allows culture to favor the adaptation of the person to his or her environment.
Health as an indicator of social development
ISSN 0121-4500.The objective is to review the concepts of beliefs and practices of health care as cultural expressions with the purpose of providing caregivers with the necessary aspects to provide a culturally congruent, more humane and effective care. Starting from the conception of culture as a human creation that influences and shapes people's beliefs and practices, some definitions of the concepts from social psychology, anthropology, sociology and transcultural nursing are reviewed. It was found that both beliefs and health care practices originate and develop within the social context, influence each other and are part of the dynamic character that allows culture to favor the adaptation of the person to his or her environment. Taking cultural aspects into account gives a human touch to care and favors the achievement of therapeutic objectives. This conceptual review is a product of the doctoral thesis "Beliefs and care practices of elderly people with disabilities, in a context of poverty, in Cartagena", which is being carried out within the projects of the Cultural Health Care group, Faculty of Nursing of the National University of Colombia, Bogotá.Keywords
Community health strategies
The aim of this study was to analyze, by means of a cross-sectional observational study, the attitudes and opinions regarding immigrant patients in a sample of 120 UCO nursing students in the 2012/2013 academic year.
The results showed that 73% (87) of the students had had contact with these patients; 35% (42) thought that immigrant patients are treated with distrust; 89% (106) that they knew little or nothing about the habits, customs, values and beliefs of immigrants; 91% (109) that specific training on transcultural care in Nursing is very or quite necessary. On the attitude scale, 53% (64) showed a moderately positive attitude and 30% (36) a moderately negative attitude. Higher mean scores were found in third (Mean = 30.13) and fourth year students (Mean = 29.63) than in first (Mean = 26.08) and second year students (Mean = 26.80).
Cultural factors
The term stigma generally refers to negative attitudes toward something or someone. In the case of mental illness, stigma often involves discrediting, ignoring or stereotyping a person with mental health problems.
Stigmatization is often due to a lack of education or understanding. People are quick to judge and label stereotypes as fact, which is why mental health problems are often dismissed or ignored. Although there have been some improvements in mental health education, mental health stigma still exists today.
Self-stigma occurs when people with a mental illness have negative thoughts and attitudes about themselves because of their mental illness. An example of self-stigma would be people with mental illness feeling that they are not capable or at fault for their mental illness.
In addition, among other groups in the African American community, there is a general distrust of the mental health system, which may prevent people from seeking formal mental health treatment.
