Modern medicine is making remarkable advances associated with breakthroughs in
medical technology and rapidly accumulating biomedical knowledge. However, it
is a commonly shared concern that, in becoming more technically oriented, the
practice of medicine—with a sometimes excessive focus on the body while ignoring
mind and emotion—struggles to maintain a human face. There is a strong need
to correct this skewed tendency and to practice medicine that emphasizes the
integration of mind and body—to see and care for the patient as a whole person—
a spirit endorsed by the contemporary field of psychosomatic medicine. As an
extension of this, there is an urgent need to provide culturally competent care for
patients—that is, care that is concerned about cultural issues—and tailors
interactions and interventions in ways that appropriately takes culture into account.
Societies around the world, including ours, are becoming multiethnic and polycultural.
The reality of medical care is that we treat people of diverse backgrounds
with varying customs and beliefs.
Inequalities of care among minorities and the culturally different are being
increasingly documented. As a result, the Surgeon General of The United States has
recently urged that medical care become increasingly culturally competent. A major
goal in solving this problem is the inclusion of a cultural focus in medical education.
A rapidly increasing number of training programs are requiring that cultural
competence training be included in their curricula. Despite this, books addressing
this topic are few. This book, Culture Competence in Health Care: A Guide for
Professionals, is intended to fill this void for students of medicine, nursing, social
work, clinical psychology, and other healthcare disciplines. It is designed to be
helpful for practicing physicians and health practitioners, in general. Objectives of
this book include providing critical knowledge about cultural issues in healthcare,
approaches to obtaining necessary cultural knowledge in specific situations, and
enhancing cultural sensitivity by stressing the cultural implications of various interactions
and situations in healthcare settings.