Heritage assessment tool

The heritage assessment tool is a tool that is used in assessing, maintaining and restoring individuals in belief and culture.  The tool plays a role in helping the providers of health care and services.  In relation to the health care concern the main focus is to get how an individual or a patient will get back to their state and out of the health care the family can be able to get a positive outcome. Therefore, the provision of the health care is to bring a specific need to the patients due to the indifference of the healthy and unhealthy people (Edelman et., al 2013). Despite people coming from different backgrounds and cultures they and the coexistence of the different cultures that may have embedded different cultural beliefs and practices. The healthcare providers are required to be proficient in their treatment to different people due to their difference in cultural backgrounds.

Heritage assessment on families

During the different heritage assessment tools there are three different families that were assessed and they were also questioned about the various aspects of their beliefs and cultures. This paper has therefore focused on the interviews that were carried to these three cultures, Bahamian, Jamaica and African America.  The emphasis was put on the relevance of the assessment tools and the difference in health traditions among the cultures (Spector, R. E. 2000). According to this research, heritage has been defined as something that brings the aspect of inheriting from the time of birth. These therefore include the personal characteristics, possessions and status as well as all the things that have been handed down by an individual’s tradition.

The heritage assessment tools have been described as the extent at which a person’s culture is shown or expressed through his daily life behavior. This has been a reliable tool that has been used in the assessment of health protection, maintenance and the process of restoring the cultural beliefs of an individual. Every person’s culture varies from different cultures and also involves the determination of the religion, culture and ethnic background.  This tool is of importance because it ca be used in the healthcare to help the health care profession also to be able to evaluate the mental, spiritual and physical beliefs which can help an individual to be evaluate their traditional health methods with the need of health protection, health restoration and health maintenance.

Bahamian culture

The family that was taken through the interview was Brussel’s’ natives of the Bahamas. The Bahamian culture is believed to be one of the most powerful culture in Africa.  This is in relation to food, religion, dance and music.  As a Bahamian the author had learnt the value of going to church and also how to pray when he was very young.  The child grew up in the Bahamians culture that believed in the Bahamas Sunday which they believed it is the day of worship because many of them were Baptists and Church of God worshippers and also Christians (Karen Hahn, R. N. 2003).  When one is taught to believe and rely on God they tend to have faith in that God. The Bahamian were taught to have faith in God and that He is the provider and the main source of strength and health.  The people from this culture are family oriented and that it is important for families that are common to gather after they are through with the church service and reminisce about the past while they are having a meal together.  Many of the foods in that meal consist of the native foods which include vegetables and fruits. One of the most common ingredient in the meals is conch that is found in salads and stews.

In relation to illness they do not find it hard to survive because they have the knowledge in bush medicine that is useful in curing a person’s illness. One of the most common remedies are aloes and ceracee for cold and flu. There many other remedies that are practiced in the culture that enable health maintenance, restoration and protection. They seek more help when these remedies are found not to be responding to the cure of the disease.  Maintenance of health is practiced by the Russell’s three times in a week.  This through having a diet that consists of seafood, vegetables and fruits. The family also engages in exercises such as annual vaccinations.

African America culture

The interview included rosette’s natives of the America.  In the African America culture there are similar beliefs in God because they are many church of God worshippers and Baptists in relation to the Bahamians because they heavily rely on prayer (Tabloski, P. A. 2013). There is a behavior that is adapted by the African America that they share they do not share about their private illness with distant family member but only do to the immediate family members.  They only seek medical attention when something that they are not able to handle.  The Bennet’s say that they are able to exercise their health maintenance practices and can only go to health centers if it is very necessary. The individuals have health insurance and also get their vaccinations earl enough such as the flu vaccines. The culture treasures recipes and the food intake is handed down from the family members.  The African American are known of eating the soul food’s and because they were not able to afford the expensive cuts of meat they made use of the meats such as the intestines, bones and tongues to make their meals.

Jamaican culture

The family that was interviewed was the Witter’s who are a native of the Kingston Jamaica and they resided at Texas. Jamaica’s are popularly known of their fine cuisine as well as their music. Anglican and Christian faith are the largest religious group in Jamaica. The Christian culture is produced by the Rastafarian movement but their origins are highly influenced by the African beliefs. The Jamaicans like eating a lot of yams and from the earth such as ackee and potatoes.  They also believe in bush medicine and that the bush medicine is the source of all the medicine.  The Jamaicans are believed to hold very close family ties. This therefore makes them to seek consultation from their family members. They believe in God in prayers and faith.  The family was going every Sunday to the church and exercised three times in a week.  They did not indulge food and were very health conscious.  Only circumstances of the common remedies not working that made them seek help.

Conclusion

The three cultures have been seen to believe in divine cultures and they are seen to believe in God and divine culture. Health maintenance is termed as a systematic program that is planned to maintain and prevent illness through the promotion of health.  Health promotion is therefore maintained through promotion of good health.  The heritage assessment tool gives information that is required by the nurses to be able to provide health protection, maintenance and restoration for the individuals.

References

 Edelman, C. L., Mandle, C. L., & Kudzma, E. C. (2013). Health Promotion Throughout the Life Span-E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Karen Hahn, R. N. (2003). Older ethnic women in faith communities. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 29(7), 5.

Spector, R. E. (2000). Cultural Care: Guides to heritage assessment and health traditions.

Tabloski, P. A. (2013). Gerontological nursing. Pearson Higher Ed.