Crossing the Cultural Chasms

Abstract

The process of cross-cultural medicine began many decades ago with the massive immigration to the United States and the need to adapt medical services for immigrants from different cultures and speaking different languages. Today, all countries recognize the increasing diversity of cultures within a country whether due to immigration secondary to political unrest, wars, or globalization of trade and technology. The ability to communicate in the patient’s language is the most effective way to demonstrate cultural sensitivity, and it greatly improves the treatment results. However, cultural understanding and competence require much beyond language. Every society has cultural and social charges; there is tradition, lifestyle habits, and family and interpersonal dynamics. Studies show differences between cultures and different cultures existing within the same country.

The Western medical culture is universally the dominant culture among professionals in the health field who treat patients of all cultures and from different societies. Various methods of diagnosis and treatment must be adapted culturally beyond the knowledge of language to deliver optimal care.

This chapter explores the dimensions of cultural differences and provides pragmatic and active teaching or learning methods to integrate these concepts into the medical school curriculum.