Overcoming Cultural Barriers In Health Care

Cultural brokering is the act of bridging, linking or mediating between groups or persons of different cultural backgrounds for the purpose of reducing conflict or producing change (Spector, 2017). A cultural broker is defined as a go-between, one who advocates on behalf of another individual or group (Spector, 2017). As a nurse caring for the German population, we must possess knowledge of values and beliefs of cultural groups; an understanding of traditional and indigenous wellness and cultural practices. Additionally, we must have experience working with the German population. As previously identified, there are numerous barriers to healthcare that this population faces. With language being the greatest barrier identified, health care providers caring for this population must be able to communicate in their preferred language. One strategy in which to be competent in the language barrier is to recruit German translators
Although our own culture provides an acceptable framework for beliefs and behaviors, they are not necessarily correct because they are based on our personal culture. When interacting with the German culture, healthcare professionals must always have an open mind to other views and consider their ways of doing things. Healthcare professional should become sensitive to the Germans range of verbal and nonverbal behavior, allowing for better communication and quality healthcare outcomes (Li et al, 2017). In addition, in-service training in cross-cultural communication should be given to all healthcare staff members. Li et al. (2017) suggest that in-service training should include verbal and nonverbal communication skills as well as access to knowledge and skills when using interpreters. All in all, medical staff members should be considerate of sociocultural components to illness, develop active listening skills, and respect others