Health care orientations of Cuban and Haitian immigrant mothers: Implications for health care professionals

Abstract

In the mid 1980s health professionals interviewed Cuban and Haitian women in the Miami-Dade Florida area Florida to determine child rearing beliefs and practices and concepts of illnesses affecting their children <5 years old. Differences in health care orientations and actions existed between the Cuban and haitian mothers probably due to the interaction of these variables: educational and health care systems of the countries; political and socioeconomic situations; household structure and function; and beliefs about child behavior. Both parents made decisions about medical care for infants and children among the Cuban immigrants. Grandmothers assisted when the infants and children were ill. Yet Haitian mothers made most of the decisions about medical care. Further few grandmothers or other relatives could help with child care. Cuban mothers learned towards preventive health care because of the preventive care orientation in Cuba and they actively stimulated desired child behavior. On the other hand the Haitian mothers viewed all events (normal growth child development health and illness) as results of Gods will therefore nothing could be done to influence events. Yet they did believe in some control since they intervened when signs/symptoms emerged. The results showed health professionals that not all immigrant groups from developing countries and/or from lower socioeconomic groups operate from an ethnomedical health care orientation. Further if an immigrant indeed has such an orientation it does not always meant that he will not use the biomedical health care system. They should also put the health beliefs and practices in the sociocultural contexts of the country of origin and the recipient nation. They must also determine each persons individual explanatory model of the illness. In conclusion the process of determining culture specific care is similar regardless of ethnic group health care orientation or socioeconomic status.