Spirit Catches You and You Essay

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The family would certainly have been more comfortable if the hospital made more of an effort to understand their culture and beliefs. The Lees were treated as if they were indignant and unresponsive to the needs of their child which was not the case at all. The hospital could have enlisted the help of affluent Hmong natives who have become more accustomed to American traditions. This person could have helped both parties, the Lees to understand medical necessities and the hospital staff to understand the importance of cultural traditions. Both parties could have used a trusted intermediary, Fadiman (1997) refers to this as a "cultural broker" (p. 265).

Another factor that would have made this experience easier for the Lees would have been if the medical professionals had an understanding of some of the important religious rituals and beliefs of their culture. Of particular importance to the Hmong is the concept of death. The doctor's told the Lees several times during Lia's last hospitalization that she was going to die in a few hours. For the Hmong, predicting a death is unthinkable, they believe that it makes the dab come closer to the dying person. The Hmong believe that it means that one is accepting of the person's death (Fadiman, 1997).

The Lee family is completely illiterate. They are unable to read either English or Hmong but they can write their names, a skill they had to learn in order to immigrate to the United States. The family can speak Hmong but that is the extent of their ability to communicate with others. Therefore, when attempting to communicate with the Lees hospital staff could benefit from an understanding of Hmong culture and language. Medical information would be more easily communicated to the Lees if the conditions that they were attempting to describe existed in Hmong language.

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The reality that there were often not Hmong equivalents made communication difficult. However, if the health care providers had been able to learn about Hmong culture they may have been better able to explain the situation to them. This would have also helped to ensure that the manner in which they did explain things was not misinterpreted or offensive in nature.

There are certainly better ways that the situation could have turned out for all invested parties. However, it is always easier to determine how we would handle a situation when we are observing it from the outside looking in. The doctors in the situation truly believed that they had made the best choices for Lia's medical care particularly given their perception of the parents as non-complaint. However, in many cases it was doctors' culture that made it difficult for them to open themselves to the beliefs and traditions of the Lees.

While the Lees understood the need to treat Lia when her symptoms were severe, they were not looking for the same complete resolution of symptoms as the doctors as they believed that Lia had special divine powers. It would have been helpful to the Lee's if the doctors were able to learn enough about their culture and wishes to appreciate the rituals and their place in the Hmong community. There were many times when the hospital staff struggled with the Lee's unnecessarily and could have allowed them to perform their own rituals finding a level of intervention that all parties could deal with. Aftercare services could have been more structured including visiting nurses to ensure that the family could dispense Lia's medication as well as incorporating Hmong remedies into the treatment plan. There is evidence that Lia has defied modern medicine even if the life that she continues to lead is less than.....

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