Cultural Aspects of Cultural Aspects of Women’s Health: Women’s Health:

Hearing Their VoiceHearing Their VoiceBy

Calvin Roberson, MHA, MPHVice President of Planning & Program Development

Ethnic VoiceEthnic Voice

Shared values, traditions, norms, customs, arts, history, folklore, and institutions of their identified people group.

◦ Gender roles ◦ Definitions of health◦ Behaviors related to

health (food identification, preparation and service)

Capable VoiceCapable Voice

Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and economic abilities that are expressed to:

◦Restore health◦Preserve and

maintain health◦Advance health to

their care community

Racial VoiceRacial Voice

Social identification with a group of people due to a historic or perceived connection to the group sharing similar physical attributes

◦ Pre-conception of trustworthiness of healthcare provider/system

Positional VoicePositional Voice

Role within a context of relationship and caretaking that influences others to engage in her health or their own health

◦ Parent◦ Sibling◦ Child◦ Spouse/Friend◦ Colleague◦ Leader

Generational VoiceGenerational Voice

Perspectives, values, beliefs, and expectations held that are attributed to the time of birth and the period of time in which she has been reared

◦ Engagement of health providers and other professionals

◦ Use of technology to support health

Cultural HumilityCultural Humility

•Cultural competency requires that a health provider engage their patients:

• To explore the multidimensional facet of a woman creating a mechanism for the collective voice to be heard and singular voices to be discerned.

• To distinguish areas of concern with the singular voice and empower them to take action based upon their cultural context and professional standards