Jiyan Lu - Week 7

Week 7

 There are many cultural healing practices that people practice with high regard. Healthcare professionals should consider open-mindedness in understanding them based on cultural sensitivity and devise a holistic care plan. Sometimes, such healing practices can be beneficial along with the other allopathic treatments. Conflict arises when healthcare staff is reluctant and discard the cultural practices in toto. The study by Elter, Kennedy, and Chesla focuses on the theme of integrating cultural healing practices in the care plan by emphasizing on the spiritual care among the Rural Postpartum theory.

The Humoral theory considers fire, water, earth, and air as the essential elements of the human body, which is the main reason that the spiritual care practices in the Chinese and Thai traditional medicine revolves around them. However, allopathic practice majorly relies on evidence scientific understanding of the treatment plans and may not agree with other culture-based healing process. However, the authors informed that this concept is flawed. There can be some beneficial aspects of spiritual care practice. For instance, diet plan and other psychological support system that rural Thai postpartum women receive does not disagree with allopathic understanding of the necessary nutrition that females in such situation should consume.

It is noteworthy that denying patients to have their cultural practices involved in their healthcare plan violates the core-concept of evidenced-based healthcare. Not only that, it might negatively affect empathy factor between patient and healthcare. Nurses should be aware of such spiritual healing practices in their communities, so that they can better assist the patients and devise a holistic care plan for them. Although if there is any risk involved, the nurses can try mindful techniques to change the perception of the patient but discarding it right away should not be the option. Therefore, it is important that the scientific studies should consider this aspect to make healthcare staff more aware of such dynamics.

Work Cited

Elter, Prangthip, Holly Kennedy, Catherine Chelsa. “Spiritual Healing Practices Among Rural Postpartum Thai Women.” Journal of Transcultural Nursing, vol. 27, no. 3, 2016.  

https://womenshealthtoday.blog/2018/06/12/cleansing-customs-to-protect-new-mothers-a-cultural-right-or-burden/