Complete assignment

Diversity and Multiculturalism in Health Care

Kimberly Crawford

Kaplan University

November 28, 2016

Diversity and multicultural perspectives are vital in the health education and public health fields in that it allows people to recognize interdependence and focus their ideas with a group other than their own. Additionally, it utilizes the patient's culture and language as tools to advance the results for that individual. According to the American Academy of Family Physician (2014), diversity and multiculturalism create a health care setting that appreciates diversity people feel welcome, appreciated, and allow medical professionals and organization to instil multiracial viewpoints into their strategy, plan and execute quality focused health initiative to all members of the community.

In general, embracing cultural diversity and multiple perspectives before starting an intervention program is vital to the provision and improvement of the overall quality of care delivery. It is, therefore, important to consider multiple perspectives before starting an intervention because diversity in the target audience and the program participants has ramifications regarding the things measured, the data collected as well as how the data is collected. For instance, before the program, one needs to consider factors such as nationality, race, and culture because, in some situations, race has been associated with some specific genetic diseases such as sickle cell anemia, and some lactose intolerance, which can influence the intervention outcomes (Issel, 2004). According to Issel, factors like physical characteristics of the population and community may affect the decisions during the planning and later during program evaluation. Furthermore, it is important to consider multiple perspectives before the program because program participants may bring their culture to the program in ways that may influence the intervention and its effectiveness.

Goal 1 could be applied to a diverse population; however, the goals need to be modified to be culturally inclusive. Different cultures have different foods and therefore to ensure that the participating population adheres to the program, the plan should state precisely the foods to be taken during the intervention to ensure successful outcomes. The second goal involves preventing obesity among children through childcare and schools. This goal can be implemented within a multicultural population however in needs some modification to get the best results. Different families have various methods of nurturing their children, and different meals could have an effect on the health of the child. As a result, the program needs to begin by educating families on some of the best ways to nurture their children especially the foods they feed their babies at an early stage. The school in the region can participate in this effort by introducing a standard method of feeding the students and as well as a standard physical activity program for children within the participating schools. The third goal involves expanding the role of employers, which can also be implemented in a multicultural setting. However, the program needs to adhere to a standard that accommodates all the participants irrespective of their cultural diversity. This involves providing the participating organizations with the instructions o the programs and the items they need to provide their works to make the program successful.

These changes can be implemented by first educating the participating population on the importance of adhering to the program and providing instruction manuals to the participants on some of the meals and physical activities to include in the program in better to enhance the success of the program.

References

American Academy of Family Physicians,. (2014). Cultural Proficiency: The Importance of Cultural Proficiency in Providing Effective Care for Diverse Populations (Position Paper). Aafp.org. Retrieved 29 November 2016, from http://www.aafp.org/about/policies/all/cultural-diverse-populations.html

Issel, L. M. (2004). Health program planning and evaluation: A practical, systematic approach for community health. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.