Nutshell 3: Culture Expedition
Nutshell 3: Culture in Occupational Therapy
Culture is defined as "the knowledge, beliefs, values, assumptions, perspectives, attitudes, norms, and customs that people acquire through membership in a particular society or group" (Hammell, 2009a). This can impact anyone in the daily occupations and routines, and can influence their goals, routines, or activities.
Someone's culture impacts their daily occupations and routines because their culture IS their every day occupation and routine. When I was in undergrad I played college soccer. My "identity" or culture during those 4 years was a student athlete. That is what my whole life revolved around for 4 years and that is how I lived for that time. My actions revolved around soccer, like nutrition, fitness, sleep, and socially. Being apart of that team definitely impacted my daily occupations and routines. I had to focus more on sleep and eat better. I even had to do school differently due to traveling and practice. Although all of that was only temporary, it was something I did and I had to adapt to. Being apart of a group changes how you act and live life. Now that I am in occupational therapy school, my day to day actions look different. This goes for everyone. I had a friend on my team who was from Norway. Every night at home she and her family went on a walk together. People in Norway are active more than we are here in America. When she came to America for soccer, that nightly walk did not change. No matter if we were traveling or had a game, she was going on that nightly walk. That was really neat for me to experience because it was so normal in her routine where she was from. She did not feel the need to get a car because her and her family walked everywhere in Norway because they live in a more active and independent culture. Another example I have experienced was when I dated someone who was from Canada. When I went to his house, I had to keep my shoes outside. They never wear shoes in the house, and they also keep all their shoes right by the door. I had never experienced something like that so I learned that when I go over there to automatically take my shoes off.
Someone may be in different cultures at different times, so it is important for an occupational therapist to acknowledge that and understand that they not only can change, but they can also be different than your own. Let's say someone is a different religion than you are and they need to be able to bend down on their knees to pray, but there were recently in a car accident and cannot fully bend down. Usually, if someone was in an accident and the cannot bend down, the occupational therapist would probably not try to push that until they are fully healed. But in this example, this person wants and expects to do this in order to fully practice their religion. This is a time that the therapist has to understand their clients wants and needs, and will find a way to make this happen for them. Maybe instead of fully bending over, they can find a chair where they can be closer to the ground and makeshift getting on their knees. There are so many tools and innervations that you can make it work. It is up to the therapist to understand and fully invest in their clients needs. Just because that persons religion is not the same as yours, it is just as important.
All of this related back to the OTPF-4, which is defined as "the therapeutic use of everyday life occupations with persons, groups, or populations (i.e., the client) for the purpose of enhancing or enabling participation" (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2020). No matter who the person is, what they believe in, or by what values they live by, they are to be treated the same as any other client. OTPF-4 cares about getting the client better. It does not say "therapeutic use to only certain cultures." It says that if someone is wanting to get to this point, then the occupational therapist will get them to that point. An occupational therapist should not only follow the guidelines of OTPF and AOTA, but they should also follow the guidelines of treating people equally. Our job is not to judge cultures and be confused on what to do. It is to appreciate differences, do proper evaluation and intervention, and then get someone on their way with proper skills to do exactly what they came to us for.
The term cultural humility is preferred over culture competence in the OT profession. This is because the term competence implies that you will fully adapt to someone's culture without bias. If you have your own culture and values, you are not expected to now have someone else's culture just because you are working with them. The term humility implies that you can recognize and appreciate someone's culture without feeling the need to make assumptions or have bias. It is okay to not be familiar with something. You are not expected to know every details about every group or religion. Being able to appreciate someone and their needs is what is expected. In my religion I do not have to get on my knees to pray. That does not mean I don't appreciate the man who has to do that for his. We find a way to make it happen and maybe learn about his religion on the way. Culture is not something that you have to know every detail of. Being open to learning and listening is expected by everyone and will not only make you a better OT, but it will give the client a positive open experience, no matter how different their culture is from yours.
Comments
Post a Comment