Cross-Cultural Health Perspectives - Module 5 SLP

Cross-Cultural Health Perspectives - Module 5 SLP

Introduction

Providing literacy about health is one of the most important factors to determine the outcomes of health. The impacts of health literacy are a problem in most of the ethnic and racial groups. This problem is even more prevalent in the populations which have a low literacy rate. This module will look into the matter of how would a health education program be approached for the Native American Community. This module will also discuss the challenges foreseen in trying to plan and implement health education programs for this cultural group.

Discussion

The native American community is a different community than all the other population living in America. This community has their own distinct cultural values and traditional practices. Health education programs designed for them should be different from those for other communities. This community prefers visual presentations over brochures. A key approach to teaching this population is story telling (www.nei.nih.gov). The population should be provided with written messages in a personal, non threatening and a believable manner. They should be verified by the credible scientific information and sources. The health education program should use pictures, images and graphics to enhance the effectiveness of the program. One of the most effective ways of providing health education to this community is one to one personal contact (2007). They can also be provided with health education using posters, radio spots, mass mailings, articles in local newsletters, health educators and websites. Health fairs on the community level can also help in providing the health education to the people of the community (2007). Television, schools, existing health education programs, senior centers, health care providers, community health representatives and hospitals are also effective ways of providing health education to this community. To get the best ...