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  • Essay / The importance of cultural competence in healthcare: the case of Nigeria

    Nigeria is a country located in West Africa. Nigeria borders Cameroon to the north, Chad to the northeast and Niger to the north. Nigeria emerged from British colony and gained independence on October 1, 1960. Nigeria is the largest and most popular country in Africa, the "Giant of Africa or African Mom". The three largest and most powerful ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa. Nigeria's ethnic group has over 266 dialects, which has made English its primary language of communication, and the entire Nigeria ethnic group practices different cultural beliefs. When it comes to religion, Nigeria is half Muslim in the north and half Christian in the south. In the next few paragraphs, I will discuss my personal and cultural beliefs as well as Nigerian cultures and certain traditions, as well as how my cultures, values ​​and beliefs may have influenced the way I provide care to my patient . And how my knowledge and acceptance of others' cultures has helped me provide culturally competent care to my patients. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In my view, health is a state which enables the individual to cope adequately with all the demands of daily life, including freedom from affliction and impairment. The health promotions I practice include regular exercise, healthy diet, annual disease screening, routine dental care, minimizing workplace risks, complying with vaccinations, practicing sexual relations protected areas, practicing good hygiene and avoiding the consumption of tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs. Health does not really mean the absence of disease or affliction, but that the state authorizes medicines. The cause of the disease depends on a wide range of factors, such as an unusual genetic profile and lifestyle choices such as smoking, alcohol and fast food consumption. Sometimes an environmental trigger can cause illness in a genetically predisposed person. Additionally, people with low socioeconomic status are at greater risk of disease due to their inability to easily access health care. Pain is subjective, in life pain is something common and can be expected based on the type of work you have done in a past to earn a living and what you are doing now. Depending on the severity of my symptoms, for example, if I have pain and the intensity is what I can manage at home, I usually use an ice pack with over-the-counter ibuprofen if necessary, I massage and exercise the pain location with menthol. I sometimes feel short of breath when I'm in a hot environment, like when the heat is too high or with bleach or the smell of cigarettes. I will start by coughing with a deep breathing exercise or use my rescue inhaler and my symptoms will disappear. For nausea and vomiting, I drink Jamaican hibiscus flower tea. For constipation, I have not suffered from constipation, I go every other day by drinking enough water and eating vegetables. For diarrhea I take iron tablets or garri powder processed from cassava tube and for fatigue warm milk and enough rest will help. Food is very relevant in individual life depending on thenutritional value derived from it. What we eat is an expression of who we are. If we eat nutrient-rich foods, it will strengthen the immune system, promote growth and repair withdrawal tissues and make the person less prone to nutritional deficiency diseases. A choice of nutritious foods promotes health. The food choices we make each day can be beneficial or harmful to our health. It is therefore necessary for everyone to pay attention to what they eat. My idea of ​​a meal, given my culture, is three times a day. Depending on the occasion, our food choice may depend on the festival or ceremony. No need to eat three times a day but make half of each meal with fruits and vegetables. Judging from my culture, I don't think we have any food belief or ritual. We eat all kinds of foods except unhealthy foods which affect health. My usual diet consists of whole foods including grains, poultry and low-fat foods, vegetables and fruits. Culturally, I don't have a food ban, but I discourage my family from eating processed foods because they have very minimal nutritional value. Hot fish soup cooked with fresh herbal fragrant leaves, mint leaves and parsley leaves serves as herbal medicine to burst the appetite of the sick. In my family, we communicate contagiously with each other because we speak the same language. Non-verbal communication is mainly used when we have visitors in the house or when we go out with children to public places and all non-verbal communication is understood. Greeting is one of the most important parts of my culture. From childhood, children learn to greet anyone older than them, greeting is a sign of respect. Usually a younger person does not extend their hand to shake an older person. There is time for everything, doing things at the right time or being punctual to events like school, work, doing home related activities is very important and is passed on to children. In other words, time is of great importance in everything we do because time lost is never regained. Generally, our tone of voice is acceptable but may be different depending on the tone compared to a voice from another culture or tribe. We generally don't invade people's privacy, but we approach people who want our friendship without thinking they will hurt us. It's good to maintain your privacy, but not so much that you don't communicate with your next door neighbor. Decision making is one of the things that helps in making the right choice. The decision can be taken from parents to children on family matters. Again, individuals can make personal decisions that do not affect other family members. Based on my religion and culture, we only believe in male and female gender and each gender has roles. Career choice is not based on gender, but household chores are sometimes assigned based on gender. For example, the man washes cars while the woman helps the parent cook. Regarding the structure of family relationships, we practice an extended family structure where a man lives with cousins, aunt, parents and grandparents who are not able to support themselves. It is believed that once parents train their children, the children will in turn take care of their elderly parent to reciprocate their parents' work. Adult children of the elderly parent may bring theirparent live in their home for proper care, especially for their health and financial needs. It is not our culture to send our elderly parents to nursing homes. In my culture, children are expected to fulfill their responsibilities like doing laundry, cooking, and cleaning the house. Girls do most of the housework and boys do small household chores, such as making sure there is water and firewood in the house. Household chores are delegated according to age. But the youngest under 6 years old do not participate in household chores. They are expected to work hard in their academic work and be good, law-abiding citizens. The arrival of a newborn is a great joy in my culture. During pregnancy, pregnant women take care of themselves from the moment their friends and relatives know or are officially informed that they are pregnant. Pregnant women are given preference over non-pregnant women. The pregnant woman is not allowed to engage in strenuous activities. They are encouraged to go to a prenatal consultation to avoid complications. During labor, pregnant women are taken to the hospital. Women in labor who have not reached 6 cm dilation or those expressing delayed labor are encouraged to walk around to ease the labor contraction interval. At this time, women in labor should cooperate with the midwife and doctor to facilitate labor, such as doing deep breathing exercises, and participating in pushing. They are also encouraged to cooperate with doctors in case of complications or when asked to perform a cesarean delivery. After the child was born, the new mother and baby returned home after 72 hours. Friends and relatives await the arrival of the newborn with a feast. The breastfeeding mother practices exclusive breastfeeding for at least one year according to individual decision. Due to the high cost of infant formula, most women introduce their babies to infant foods at six months. Mothers who want to breastfeed their babies for about a year should eat a nutritious meal with enough vegetables. Most of the time, friends and family bring fruits and cooked meals to the nursing mother to help her rest. The nursing mother and baby do not live at home except during the postnatal period, so the baby will not be exposed to airborne diseases. Breastfeeding mothers are relieved of household chores for the first four months after delivery, as these periods are traditionally thought to be the time for the new mother to recuperate. In the few weeks following the birth, the father must look after the mother and child, cook, look after older children if there are any and provide all the necessary things for the mother who breastfeeding and the baby. , traditional rights are observed, such as killing cows, goats, rams, etc. for people aged 90 before their death. This type of traditional right is based on family income. It is believed that the deceased adult in my culture will never find peace in the afterlife if traditional burial rites are not performed or refused. The deceased is deposited at the morgue for burial and sometimes the body of the deceased may remain for a few months before burial in order to help family members gather enough money for the funeral rite. After burial, remaining family members must wear black or white, women, young and old, shave their hair to mourn their deaths. One year after the.