Culture and Clinical Care.

Abstract

Culture and Clinical Care. Lipson JG, Dibble SL, eds. San Francisco, Calif, UCSF Nursing Press, 2005, softcover, 487 pp, $33.95. Culture and Clinical Care is an expanded version of Culture and Nursing Care: A Pocket Guide, and serves as a practical resource for basic sociocultural information about particular ethnic populations. The title was changed to attract other health professionals; although there is no specific reference to rehabilitation professionals, each chapter does have a few words on attitudes toward disability. The goal of Culture and Clinical Care is to emphasize that people are both similar and different. In the preface, the editors note the difficulty of describing common characteristics of cultural and ethnic groups and the diversity within them, while being brief enough to remain accessible. They do caution that this information is to be used only as a starting point to learn about culture. The clinician is urged to follow-up with a more in-depth interview process with the patient and/or family. The editors warn against stereotyping of individuals based on the book's contents. The term cultural competence is not used in this book because the editors believe that the concept of competence indicates mastery-an unreachable goal. Rather, the ASK perspective (Awareness, Sensitivity, and Knowledge) is suggested. While I utilize the term competence to mean properly skilled, not mastery, I agree that cultural competence is a life-long process. There are 35 chapters, each focusing on a different group of people. These populations were identified for inclusion based on either having a US-based population of over 100,000 people or because information about them is otherwise not easily accessible. The following is a list of the countries of origin or specific ethnic groups that are presented (the Table of Contents is in alphabetical order): Afghans, African Americans, American Indians/Alaskan Natives, Arabs, Brazilians, Cambodians (Khymer), Central Americans (Guatemalans, Nicaraguans, and Salvadorans), Chinese, Colombians, Dominicans, East Indians, Ethiopians and Eritreans, Filipinos, Germans, Greeks, Haitians, Hawaiians, Hmong, Iranians, Irish, Italians, Japanese, Koreans, Mexicans, Nigerians, Pakistanis, Polish, Puerto Ricans, Roma (Gypsies), Russians, and others from the former Soviet Union, Samoans, Vietnamese, West Indians/Caribbeans, and (former) Yugoslavians. Some of these groups are narrowly defined (Hmong and Khymer) and yet other chapters represent extremely broad groups (African Americans). A personal review of the US Census from 2000 indicates that Jamaicans comprise the number one immigrant group in Connecticut, as do Hondurans in Louisiana. …