Cultural Diversity In Health & Illness

1. While assessing a patient from the Jewish culture, the nurse learns that the patient believes that

an illness is being caused by another soul. What is this health belief considered?

a. Aberglobin

b. Kayn aynhoreh

c. Szatan

d. Dybbuk

2. While caring for an infant of Puerto Rican descent, the nurse sees a black amulet on a chain on

the wrist of the baby’s right hand. What should the nurse do with the amulet?

a. Remove the amulet

b. Leave it on the baby’s wrist

c. Ask that the amulet be removed until the baby is older

d. Move it to the baby’s ankle

3. During an assessment, a patient tells the nurse, “An onion a day keeps everyone away.” How

does this philosophy protect health?

a. Protects the person from coming in contact with those who might be ill

b. Affirms the belief in the power of onions to prevent disease

c. Recognizes the special antibiotic properties contained within onions

d. Advertises that onions have special healing abilities

4. While caring for a patient from the Chinese culture, the nurse learns that the patient has a

specific practice that follows yin and yang. What impact will this have on the patient’s dietary

intake?

a. There are specific foods for specific purposes

b. Some foods are only eaten at different times of the year

c. The patient will eat only specified proportions of food

d. Identifies if foods should be eaten hot or cold

5. Which patient statement reflects a spiritual belief that defines illness?

a. ”I am being punished for breaking a religious code”

b. “It is a necessary part of my religious culture”

c. “I failed to wear special amulets to ward it off”

d. “I am sick because I violated dietary practices”

6. During a health history, a patient tells the nurse about following traditional epidemiological practices. What is the purpose of these practices?

a. Uses folk medicine herbal remedies

b. Used as a part of the patient’s religion

c. Used to cure an illness

d. Used to protect oneself from evil

7. The nurse learns that a patient used to follow homeopathic medicine but now only uses allopathic medicine approaches. What is the significance of allopathic medicine?

a. Is practiced only where it is accepted

b. Accepts other forms of therapy as valid for treating disease

c. Empirical science and scientific methods for treating disease

d. Encompasses different treatment modalities within its framework

8. A patient with a progressive neurological disease wants to visit shrines in the United States to offer prayers for healing. Which shrines would be available for the patient to visit?

a. The Tomb of Menachem Mendel Schneerson

b. Shrine of Our Lady of San Juan

c. Shrine of St. Peregrine

d. All of the above.

9. A patient with terminal cancer is planning a trip to Lourdes, France, the site of a revered Roman Catholic shrine. What is the significance of visiting this shrine?

a. Receiving a cure through a miracle

b. Being able to live a long life

c. Becoming more prosperous

d. Gaining insight about the cause of disease

10. What would be alternative treatment modalities used during an illness?

a. Willingness to seek a second medical opinion

b. Consultation of a healer outside the medical establishment

c. Refusal to allow any medical treatment to be performed

d. Strict adherence to the prescribed medical regimen

11. A patient adheres to the teachings of Seventh-day Adventist. What practice is followed by

those within this religion?

a. Abstinence from alcohol, coffee, and tea

b. Avoid pork

c. Fasting once a month

d. Follow a vegetarian diet

12. A patient tells the nurse that no blood or blood products will be accepted as a form of health treatment. This patient is most likely a member of which religion?

a. Jehovah’s Witness

b. Roman Catholic

c. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

d. Christian Science

13. A patient follows the teachings of Christian Science and will not take any medications, but for which health problem will medications be used by members of this religion?

a. Antibiotics

b. Chemotherapy to treat cancer

c. Immunizations to comply with civil law

d. Narcotics for pain relief

14. Which actions are considered to be health restoration practices for individuals of Eastern European Jewish heritage?

a. Chicken soup

b. Glass of wine

c. Alcohol massage

d. All of the above.

15. A patient tells the nurse about using cod liver oil every day. Which heritages utilize cod liver oil as a health maintenance practice?

a. English Episcopal

b. English Baptist

c. Norwegian Lutheran

d. a and c only

16. Which health restoration practice for a cold would the nurse assess in a patient of English Catholic heritage?

a. Rubbing the chest with Vicks

b. Drinking honey and vinegar

c. Gargling with water and vinegar

d. Drinking warm milk

17. During an assessment, the nurse asks a patient of Irish Catholic heritage to identify a health protection practice that is ingested. What practice will this patient most likely follow?

a. Senna tea

b. Yeast

c. Wine

d. Hot peppermint tea

18. A patient of Swedish-American Protestant descent wants a specific HEALTH protection intervention to maintain throat health. Which action will the patient most likely request?

a. Gargling with salt and taking honey with milk

b. Having the throat blessed on St. Blaise Day

c. Ingesting baking soda

d. Staying in a steamy bathroom when the throat is sore

19. A patient tells the nurse that Father John’s Medicine is used as a HEALTH protection practice from November to May. Individuals from which heritage uses this remedy?

a. Italian-American Catholics

b. English-American Episcopalians

c. Canadian Catholics

d. Native American Baptists

20. The cost of prescription medications, an indicator of health care costs, has skyrocketed from $2.7 million in 1960 to $234.1 billion in 2008. What would be a reason for the increase in prescription medication costs?

a. Technology costs associated with new drug development

b. Health insurance covers all medication costs

c. People want more prescription medications for all of their illnesses

d. The majority of prescription medications are used by an increasingly aging population

21. The nurse is reviewing the costs associated with providing care for specific health problems in 2006. Which health problems increased since 1999?

a. Respiratory intubation and mechanical ventilation

b. Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA)

c. Cardiac pacemaker

d. All of the above.

22. What was the focus of health care during the early part of the twentieth century?

a. Discovery of external cardiac pacing

b. Maternal and child health

c. Implementing Medicare

d. Reducing the impact of HIV/AIDS

23. What was the impact of infrastructure on the health care industry in the middle of the twentieth century?

a. Development of the foundation for today’s costly tests and treatments

b. Restriction of public immunizations and medications for communicable diseases

c. Social policy planning for health care expenditures

d. Decrease of hospital building and local resources for health care

24. What impact did social and health policy have on the health care system in the latter part of the twentieth century?

a. Affordable health care for all citizens

b. The majority of health care being paid for through government subsidies

c. Exploding health care costs and the challenges to reform and control them

d. Health care costs decreasing as a result of social and health policy

25. What was the goal of health care reform efforts in the 1990s?

a. Making health care affordable, comprehensive, and accessible

b. Allocating health resources based on priority needs

c. Providing government-subsidized health care

d. Ensuring all citizens had health insurance