Cultural Identity And Culturally Safe Practices In Health And Wellbeing Settings

Task 1: Your cultural identity

I am working as a Residential Support Worker for children with intellectual disabilities in Hohepa Homes in Hawke’s Bay. I work with eight children and eleven co-workers in this home setting. I work 40 hours a week with different child every day. The children are Maori and European ethnicities. The workers are Maori, Filipino, Indian, North American, German and American ethnicities. ? Thank you!

The nation where I belong to is India. India is a land of diverse cultures and religions. The various ethnic groups, who coexist in this sub-continent, contribute to its variety. The different religions like Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity and Jainism that is practised within this one sanctum lends to the spirituality found in this nation (Paniagua, 2013). The type of culture prevalent in India is primarily collectivist. Collectivism refers to personality disposition whereby family needs and goals of work group are given more importance than individual desires, for example, the choice of career or marriage of an individual are mostly governed by the decision of the elders in a family.

Factor one	Family
How this factor has made me who I am today Save Time On Research and Writing Hire a Pro to Write You a 100% Plagiarism-Free Paper. Get My Paper	My family in India is that of a traditional joint family which where I had learnt the values of selflessness and interdependence. It is ingrained in my nature to keep a cohesive bond with my acquaintances. ?
How this factor influences my work as a worker in the health and wellbeing sector	The values which my family had imparted encouraged me to pursue a higher education in the field of health and social work for children with special needs. ?
Factor two	Socio-Economic and Socio-Cognitive Environment
How this factor has made me who I am today	The environment in which I had grown up laid high emphasis to become support system for the ones who need it and share my benefits with others in the family. ?
How this factor influences my work as a worker in the health and wellbeing sector	Children are the future of a country in terms of progress and betterment. However, the ones belonging from the backward sections often fall prey to malnutrition and severe neglect (Muhammad et al., 2015). These are few of the various causes that lead to their disability. It was my objective to help these children overcome barriers within the range of their possibility. ?
Factor three	Culture
How this factor has made me who I am today	The type of culture prevalent in India is primarily collectivist. Collectivism refers to personality disposition whereby family needs and goals of work group are given more importance than individual desires, for example, the choice of career or marriage of an individual are mostly governed by the decision of the elders in a family. ?
How this factor influences my work as a worker in the health and wellbeing sector	Collectivism has helped me understand the idea of sacrifice in a favourable way. Being a health worker, a large amount of my time is required at the centre which gives me little scope of personal activities. However, the culture in which I was brought up has taught me to keep my responsibilities before my personal interest. ?
Factor four	Education
How this factor has made me who I am today	I have studied social work for few months, specialisation in human development, Maori culture and interpersonal skills. Due to my sheer commitment in my domain, today I could manage to find a professional space at my workplace. ?
How this factor influences my work as a worker in the health and wellbeing sector	My Educational background has helped me to understand the nuances in working for the betterment of disabled children. ?

Values make up our standard of living that guides us towards our goals. It helps us to rationalize our decision to act in a particular way and prevent us from indulging in unacceptable behaviour (Adger et al., 2013). Excellent

Value 1	Understanding the significance associated with the criticality of human relationships. ?
Value description	Collectivist culture attaches great importance to human relationships as it determines the kind of person one grows up to be (Adger et al., 2013). In this physical world, each one of us has our own vulnerabilities and limitations. When the person next to us can understand the positive or negative impact his or her action can have on our course of life, it makes our survival easier. ?
How the value influences the way I work in my health and wellbeing setting	This value has taught me to build healthy connection with others, understand their priorities as well as conflicting ideas. ?
Value 2	Practicing equality to inculcate the importance of social justice ?
Value description	This value strives to promote anti-discriminatory sensitivities. ?
How the value influences the way I work in my health and wellbeing setting	This value has influenced the sensitivities in my role as a Health worker for Disabled Children. The concept of building healthy relationships has helped me build rapport with the patients and understand their needs. Disability often hinders an individual from participating effectively in different activities, physical as well as psychological, in life. My second value has urged me to motivate the patients and instil confidence in their mind that they can achieve their life goals. ?

New Zealand is a multi-ethnic region. Amalgamation of the customs and practices of various groups to frame socio-political policies is what defines the culture of this country (Adger et al., 2013). Being a part of the healthcare sector in New Zealand, majority of my co-worker population is dominated mostly by Maori and Filipino Cultures and to some extent by Pakehas (Bécares, Cormack & Harris, 2013). Maoris constitute the native residents of New Zealand, the Filipinos had mostly migrated to New Zealand during 1936 in search of better opportunities and to overcome the poverty stricken circumstances in their country whereas, Pakehas, also known as Pasifika people, are the immigrants from the Pacific Islands who had settled in New Zealand since British Colonization. These communities co-exist through transaction of their traditional values in different avenues of life.

Name of Person One	Timoti Bridges
Description of her Cultural Identity	Maori
Description of Value 1	Manaakitanga: This is one of the core values exhibited in Maori Culture which relates to their nature of Hospitality and kindness and defined by their sense of empathy for and support towards others (Venzon & Higginbottom, 2013). ?
How value 1 is demonstrated in the health and wellbeing setting	One of my fellow co-worker, Ms. Timoti Bridges, whose cultural roots belong to Maori, is an outstanding example in her department. She is very sensitive towards the ethnic care-needs of her patients who are children suffering from disability as well as their guardians. She tries to keep her personal schedule flexible in order to accommodate for any emergency situation. This attitude in her profession stems from the mutual respect and empathy she has for others. ?
Description of Value 2	Kaitiakitanga consists of another core value nurtured by Maoris. It consists of establishing a respectful kinship between human beings and their environment. It essentially promotes conservation of the natural world and reaping benefits from it without causing it any harm. ?
How value 2 is demonstrated in the health and wellbeing setting	Timoti Bridges, my co-worker had a stark inclination towards the application of natural medicine over pharmacological ones. She personally preferred consulting a Tohuga as opposed to a doctor for her personal ailments. However, with increased urbanization and poor socio-economic ratio of her community, her preferences have considerably shifted towards utilization of modern services. Yet, she tries to maintain a balance between her beliefs and her practical needs by not going for extremely pharmacological treatments for her patients if there is a healthy alternative of natural healthcare practices which tend to cause lesser harm to the environment. This inclination towards the use of natural medicine can be attributed to her culture and upbringing. However, the dual impact of working in an environment which expects her to use pharmacological medicines in critical cases and where her colleagues belong from diverse cultural background has been a significant factor in modifying her perception of medicines and treatment.
Describe the factors that make their cultural identity different to yours	One major difference that I, as an Indian have with my fellow Maori co-workers is that back in our country, even though we have several ethnic groups as well as indigenous communities, the dependence on modern healthcare services is relatively more than those belonging to Maori community. In India, pharmacologically driven health treatments are more popular than the Ayurveda or practice of natural medicines. The subpopulation depending purely on Ayurveda is very less in comparison to those depending on Modern medicines and healthcare practices. ?

Name of Person Two	Patrick Mendoza
Description of her Cultural Identity	Filipino
Description of Value 1	Mapagmalasakit is one of the core values of Filipino Community that is identified for their love and compassion for their families. They are a very close knit community who keep constant watch on each other, be it their friends or relatives, apart from their own communities. ?
How value 1 is demonstrated in the health and wellbeing setting	My co-worker, Mr. Patrick Mendoza, who is a Filipino, has always been very popular with the children of the disability ward. He is compassionate person who tries to ensure that the children feel loved and important, above any other treatment. His attitude is a direct result of his upbringing. ?
Description of Value 2	Mapaqpasalamat is another core value of the Filipino Community which refers to Faith in Life and God. Philippines, being a country that is often struck with natural calamity, the people have instilled an optimistic characteristic within themselves that encourages them to celebrate every moment of their lives without being depressed about what has left them. The members of this community hold extensive feasts and celebrate the positive outlook towards life with their families and close friends. ?
How value 2 is demonstrated in the health and wellbeing setting	In the Disability ward, often parents of the children are found depressed and lost about their children’s future as they do not possess equal mental or physical resources to compete in this world. Patrick has always stood strong beside those parents and he is a constant source of inspiration for all as he tries to explain them that with love, care and proper treatment, these children would be able to overcome their shortcoming to a considerable extent. Thus he tries to infuse optimism in the minds of despaired parents. ?
Describe the factors that make their cultural identity different to yours	Both Filipino and Indian Cultures are similar in terms of both having their roots in Asia. However, few traditional aspects of India culture are strongly borrowed from the English due to the long period of British Colonization, whereas, in case of Philippines, it is more influenced by the Spanish and Americans (Almutairi & Rondney, 2013). This is the driving factor for the Indians of being more concerned about the numerical parameters in quality testing in any profession. Filipinos, on the other hand depends more on the subjective experience in quality assessment. ?

Sector value 1

Name of the Value

The sector value I am describing is Honesty and Integrity ?

Define the value

The sector value of Honesty and Integrity mean maintaining leading standards in practices and performances that is represented by all the members. ?

Application of value

The value of Honesty and Integrity is applied by all staff of the Health care departments pertaining to each of their core and allied domains. ?

Evidence of my workplace application

While working in Hohepa Homes, I had applied Honesty and Integrity by maintaining all standards of the centre so as not to breach the trust of the patients or their families. ?

Values difference due to cultural identity

The value may be seen differently by average people in our country, India, with respect to the Government and Private Health-Care Services. Patients, at times, make huge investments in treating their family members in private nursing home with state of the art facilities. However, in few instances, they found themselves beguiled and overcharged and the treatment not up to the mark.

Sector value 2

Name of the Value

The sector value I am describing is Inclusiveness?

Define the value

The sector value of Inclusiveness refers to active participation of all members of a Service contributing to both social and personal benefits. ?

Application of value

The value of Inclusiveness is encouraged to make sure everyone’s opinion matters and that all members have potential to make a positive change in the working environment. To put this value in significant use, quarterly meetings are held in the organisation in which all members participate and discuss the implication of core organisational policies. Along with that, the management also circulates feedback surveys among the junior employees to examine if they are able to work with proper freedom and get the required support and guidance from the seniors. In such surveys, recommendations are also asked of them in relation to the organisation’s improvement in work culture.

Evidence of my workplace application

While working in Hohepa Homes, I had to take the Treaty of Waitangi into account to serve our accountability to the Maori tangata whenua. The particular term in the Treaty which was given additional attention was ‘Protection’. It comprised of clauses referring to culture and traditional sensitivities that the Home needed to maintain while treating patients belonging to this community.

Values difference due to cultural identity

The value may be seen differently in our country with respect to the framework of application. The health care services available in India are more generalized in their framework which is equal for all communities. ?

Sector value 3

Name of the Value

The sector value I am describing is Quality and Excellence?

Define the value

The sector value of Quality and Excellence strives to promote and deliver good quality health services. ?

Application of value

This value is one of the core factors on the basis of which an industry operates. The area which constitute this values are clinical excellence, patient’s safety and confidentiality and an unparalleled commitment towards serving the patients with care and compassion. It also include special facilities for those in any community who are not able to afford for their treatment.

Evidence of my workplace application

While working in Hohepa Homes, I had to make sure that the quality of my service is never compromised at any cost. There were associated aspects like punctuality of the staff, an infrastructure promising state of the art facilities and a personal touch towards healing patients that ensured abiding by this value. An example relevant to this aspect that I can cite from my experience of working in Hohepa Homes would be in relation to a particular elderly patient belonging from the Maori Community. She was insistent that she was looked after by someone belonging to her community with whom she could communicate and be at ease. The Home had undertaken a special recruitment drive to accommodate to her need and to the needs of future patients with similar request. It was a relatively emergency situation but the Home did not deter from arranging it.

Values difference due to cultural identity

In comparison to the public health care services available in New Zealand, the Indian Public health care services need to undergo lot of infrastructural modification, particularly with respect to sanitation. ?

Sector value 4

Name of the Value

The sector value I am describing is Fairness. ?

Define the value

The sector value of Fairness mainly aims at promoting social justice. ?

Application of value

The value of fairness is an integral requirements in a place such as New Zealand which has various indigenous communities with low access to modern health care facilities. ?

Evidence of my workplace application

While working in Hohepa Homes, I had applied this value to curb any notion of discrimination with respect to my patient’s treatment. Explicit racism has always been a rising concern in service industries including that of healthcare. However, at Hohepa, fairness of treatment was followed in its literal terms by all members because our centre was open to patients from diverse community. If any of us cited inconvenience in treating a patient belonging from some other community, he or she was first counselled against such practice and in case of severe malpractice, the member was terminated. With effective communication and empathy, I made sure that my service was able to reduce, if not cure the ailment of a patient.

, Values difference due to cultural identity

The value may be seen differently in our country, India, with respect to the needs and requirement of various sub-cultural communities existing there.

Maori value 1

Name of the Value

The Maori value I am describing is Cohesiveness

Define the value

The Maori value of Cohesiveness means a close bond or association among members belong to their social and personal groups.

Application of value

The value of Cohesiveness is applied when important decisions are needed to be taken. Individuals of the community act together towards a common goal.

Evidence of workplace application

While working in Hohepa Homes, the healthcare workers belonging to the Maori Community were often observed to readily collaborate with workers from other disciplines to arrive at a conclusive decision regarding a patient’s health and well-being.

Values difference due to cultural identity

The applicability of this value was not held with much difference in the other communities.

Maori value 2

Name of the Value

The Maori value I am describing is Spiritualism

Define the value

The Maori value of Spiritualism means having considerable faith in the effects of spiritual ideologies practiced by the elders in their community.

Application of value

The value of Spiritualism is applied when the members are faced with crisis in their lives. By using this value they enhance their mental capacity to withstand stressful events at work.

Evidence of workplace application

While working at Hohepa Homes, the workers from Maori Community often relied on their traditional beliefs in the healing ability of natural medicines.

Values difference due to cultural identity

The value of spirituality was perceived differently by individuals of other cultural community because the concept of spirituality itself emerges from the significant difference in cultures which shapes the perception of this value in their mind. Spirituality can be aptly defined through Phenomenology which states that the mental or bodily sensations are perceived differently by each individual which forms the base of their spiritual differences.

Maori value 3

Name of the Value

The Maori value I am describing is Mutual Respect

Define the value

The Maori value of Mutual Respect means bonds upholding honour and dignity existing between the elders and the youngsters in the community.

Application of value

The value of Mutual Respect is applied by the community members in this healthcare facility to treat each and every patients getting admitted there. This value helps them to be undiscriminating and less critical of others.

Evidence of workplace application

While working in Hohepa Homes, on many occasions I have witnessed my Maori co-workers being sensitive towards the needs of the patients even when they had to face difficulty and rudeness from the other end. Eventually, the patients were found to bond more comfortably with them.

Values difference due to cultural identity

The value is perceived is perceived differently in terms of patience and sensitivity. Not all cultural attributes enforces this value effectively and as a result individuals from such cultures are found to be more restless, impatient and egoistic when their sentiments are hurt by other’s behaviour. The Maori culture encourages its members to be more considerate even in challenging situations.

Maori value 4

Name of the Value

The Maori value I am describing is Proactiveness and Outgoing Nature

Define the value

The Maori value of Proactiveness and Outgoing Nature can be defined by the urge of the community members to help each other within the community or those in need.

Application of value

The value is applied in the process of decision making or attending actively to a particular duty.

Evidence of workplace application

While working at Hohepa Healthcare, I have witnessed that the value of Proactiveness and Outgoing Nature is applied decently by most of my Maori co-workers in all aspects within the facility, be it with respect to attending a patient or any associated administrative function. They were ready to take the responsibility of a difficult task and go forth with it.

Values difference due to cultural identity

At any workplace this value is the most looked for in all employees and it essentially does not depend on cultural differences among individuals to internalise it and act on its terms. It is one of the trait characteristics in an individual which determines if the person would act proactively in a given situation or not.

Pacifika value 1

Name of the Value

The Pacifika value I am describing is Hospitality

Define the value

The Pacifika value of Hospitality means wholesome engagement with the customers, in this situation, patients in terms of delivering as per their needs.

Application of value

The value of Hospitality is applied by all industries in service sectors where the revenue generated depends hugely on the quality of service provided to the customers and the interaction with them.

Evidence of workplace application

While working at Hohepa Homes, I found my Pacifika co-workers giving huge importance on the quality of healthcare facilities they were providing to the patients and also they laid huge importance on the convenience of the patient party.

Values difference due to cultural identity

The application of hospitality is different for different cultures and it is determined by their nature of interaction with their customers. A culture like that of Pacifikas emphasizes on maintaining good relations with those who are main generators of the business revenue. By doing so, not only the business will economically prosper but it will have a goodwill in the market.

Pacifika value 2

Name of the Value

The Pacifika value I am describing is Kindness

Define the value

The Pacifika value of Kindness means helping others to experience less stress and live a meaningful life.

Application of value

The value of Kindness is applied by all individuals who are empathetic and optimistic by nature and those who want to make this world a better place to live in.

Evidence of workplace application

While working at Hohepa Homes, I witnessed the kindness of my Pacifika co-workers on many occasions, especially with those in the children’s ward. Those children suffering from disability need kindnesss more than anything so that they did not lose hope in their chances to get better.

Values difference due to cultural identity

The value of kindness is often misconstrued or misinterpreted by other inviduals who presume that kindness is a way to win over others to serve their own purpose. It typically depends on that person’s cultural entity which instils such negative conjectures about others.

Pacifika value 3

Name of the Value

The Pasifika value I am describing is Sociability

Define the value

The Pacifika value of Sociability may be defined as the willingness to be with others or working with other individuals in good terms.

Application of value

The value of Sociability is applied in work settings to improve the interpersonal relations among employees, with the superiors, subordinates and customers, who in this case are patients

Evidence of workplace application

While working at Hohepa Homes, my Pacifika co-workers reflected high competency in their duties. Their sociable nature was also emulated through their emotional intelligence and people-focussed attributes. Being highly sociable they displayed considerable flexibility in their work schedules. Their empathetic approach towards their co-worker’s dilemmas, stress and crisis was also noted.

Values difference due to cultural identity

The value is starkly distinguished as different in other cultures, especially the conservative ones who like to be confined within their own circles and work within it.

Pacifika value 4

Name of the Value

The Pacifika value I am describing is Strong Wilfulness

Define the value

The Pacifika value of Strong Wilfulness means strong persistence and dedication in discharging one’s duty.

Application of value

The value of Strong Wilfulness is applied in work setting which has huge pressure and stressful responsibilities.it is an easier option to quit but to stay through the work and get it done in its rightful nature requires strong wilfulness.

Evidence of workplace application

Historically speaking, members of Pacifika community had immigrated from other countries and that lead them to build a strong will towards establishing their cultural aspects and blending them with other attributes. This aspect is reflected till date. In my workplace, my pacifika co-workers do not quit easily on the welfare of any patient whose condition is critical and strive till the last moment to help them get better.

Values difference due to cultural identity

The value of strong wilfulness is often misunderstood for headstrong, recklessness and being dominating by individuals of other cultures.

Person-Centred Approach refers to a service design in health care that focuses on a customized path of catering to the needs of the patients taking all their preferences, cultural values and inhibitions into consideration. This approach follows certain core principles of self-determination, patience, building rapport with the patients, motivating them to face their challenges and also, giving them a certain degree of autonomy to deal with life. Person-centric approach requires adequate support and funding from the Government for the health workers to take important clinical decisions pertaining to patient’s well-being (Paniagua, 2013). In addition to this, individuals belonging to the indigenous communities, like Maori Tribe, require judicious training on Social Welfare and Education to help maintain the cultural sensitivities of the patients belonging to their community.

How Person-Centric Approach to Well-Being is influenced by My Cultural Identity

Being an Indian, my ethnicity is rich in spiritual and religious beliefs which encompass a reasonable area in Health-Care practices. It serves to make the healing approach more holistic and compassionate. It must be added that irrespective of culture and ethnicity, the fundamental concept of healing lies in being empathetic towards the patients and catering to their emotional and spiritual needs (Muhammad et al., 2015). With regards to person-centric approach in health care, my cultural background has played a major role in understanding the requirements of this proposition. It comprises of improving the lifestyles of the patient and not only treating their disease or disabilities. It is about strengthening the mental conviction of the patients that they can overcome their challenge. This procedure has let patients avail their treatments as and when needed by them. Taking cues from the goodness of my culture, I had been able to improve the quality of my patient’s lives by encouraging them to eat healthy, exercise and undergo psychological interventions along with conventional pharmacological administration. This service has not only helped the patients to be aware of their health requirements but has substantially reduced the cost of treatment, thus making me more confident about my potential to serve them. ?

References

Adger, W. N., Barnett, J., Brown, K., Marshall, N., & O’Brien, K. (2013). Cultural dimensions of climate change impacts and adaptation. Nature Climate Change, 3(2), 112.

Almutairi, A. F., & Rondney, P. (2013). Critical cultural competence for culturally diverse workforces: Toward equitable and peaceful health care. Advances in Nursing Science, 36(3), 200-212.

Bécares, L., Cormack, D., & Harris, R. (2013). Ethnic density and area deprivation: Neighbourhood effects on Maori health and racial discrimination in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Social Science & Medicine, 88, 76-82.

Brougham, D., & Haar, J. M. (2013). Collectivism, cultural identity and employee mental health: A study of New Zealand Maori. Social indicators research, 114(3), 1143-1160.

Muhammad, M., Wallerstein, N., Sussman, A. L., Avila, M., Belone, L., & Duran, B. (2015). Reflections on researcher identity and power: The impact of positionality on community based participatory research (CBPR) processes and outcomes. Critical Sociology, 41(7-8), 1045-1063.

Paniagua, F. A. (2013). Assessing and treating culturally diverse clients: A practical guide. Sage Publications.

Paniagua, F. A., & Yamada, A. M. (Eds.). (2013). Handbook of multicultural mental health: Assessment and treatment of diverse populations. Academic Press.

Venzon Cruz, E., & Higginbottom, G. (2013). The use of focused ethnography in nursing research. Nurse Researcher, 20(4)

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