Trans-cultural issues in nursing
Select a Cultural Group
Currently, in the USA, various cultural groups exist as opposed to the pre-colonial era of ancient America. Such cultural diversity is in part attributed to migration and colonialism of the USA. The different cultural groups have various preferences, which affect their health differently. That said, of the many cultural groups in the USA, the Asian community is of utmost interest that deserves analysis. Such is the case given its predisposition to osteoporosis as compared to other cultural groups. A predisposition of this kind is unavoidable given the existence reasons like low dietary intake of calcium-rich foods due to lactose intolerance among these persons. As such, a look at the reasons for the inclination to the choices of the Asian community and osteoporosis is central to this discussion. In light of this information, an appreciation of the role played by culture in predisposition to certain illnesses is inevitable.
Primarily, the magnitude of this health challenge among the Asian community is reason enough to choosing this cultural group. For instance, according to Cauley, (2011), 85.4 of every 100,000 Asian-American persons are suffering from osteoporosis. Such a statistic is worrying given the small proportion of this group of individuals in the USA and therefore points to the need of comprehending the reason behind these figures.
On the contrary, the decision of osteoporosis as a disorder associated with the Asian persons is predominantly due to the existence of multiple factors that endangers them. A case in point is the tendency of Asians to take foods less rich in Calcium because of their lactose intolerance. Moreover, most Asians, especially of the female gender, are short and slender, which profoundly endangers them to osteoporosis as compared to their counterparts of other cultures (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, 2015). Evidently, with such risk factors, it is beyond doubt that the Asians are at greatest risks of osteoporosis.
In conclusion, indeed the Asian-Americans are a special cultural group whose health care needs differ from other cultural groups. Such is the case given their susceptibility to a condition like osteoporosis. Thus, nurses must understand such health care needs if they are to manage such groups effectively.
References
Cauley, J. (2011). Defining Ethnic and Racial Differences in Osteoporosis and Fragility Fractures. Clinical Orthopaedics And Related Research®, 469(7), 1891-1899. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11999-011-1863-5
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases,. (2015). Osteoporosis and Asian American Women. Niams.nih.gov. Retrieved 4 January 2017, from https://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Osteoporosis/Background/asian_american_women.asp
