Guatemalan and Chinese
Similarities of health care beliefs between both heritages
One similarity of health care beliefs between Guatemalan and Chinese cultures is that they value traditional medicine over Western medicine. The other similarity is that they use herbs and proper diet to enhance good health. Also, there is high trust in the credibility of biomedical health care systems in both cultures, which implies that there is a high probability of absorbing modern health care models in these cultures.
Effects of the health care beliefs in the delivery of Evidence-based health care
Health care beliefs in both cultures affect the delivery of evidence-based health care because they favor traditional medicine over Western medicine by eliciting fear. For instance, Guatemalans fear drawing blood samples for testing since they believe it will render one unhealthy and weak. This implies that most people do not access the early diagnosis of illnesses, which hinders the delivery of evidence-based health care. Chinese culture also has high regard for procedures such as cupping and acupuncture, which hinder the utilization of evidence-based health care in pain management. Guatemalans also have negative beliefs about organ donation, which elicit fear on any health concern related to organ donation. This hinders the delivery of evidence-based health care.
Conclusion
Health care beliefs among cultures influence the utilization of evidence-based health care since they tend to favor existing knowledge in preventing and curing illnesses. Chinese and Guatemalan cultures have similar health care beliefs, such as they both prioritize the use of traditional medicine even though they acknowledge Western medicine. Both cultures believe that a balanced diet is crucial for good health. Chinese believe that physical and mental disability is a bad omen, which hinders evidence-based health care. However, Guatemalans believe in the guidance of Mayan spirits in case of health problems before seeking Western medicine. People from Asian cultures have varying health care beliefs from American natives.
References
Cheung, K. L. C., Buckley, E. R., & Watanabe, K. (2017). Traditional Chinese Medicine Market in Hong Kong. Journal of alternative and complementary medicine, 4(1), 555-630.
Hoyler, E., Martinez, R., Mehta, K., Nisonoff, H., & Boyd, D. (2018). Beyond medical pluralism: Characterising health-care delivery of biomedicine and traditional medicine in rural Guatemala. Global public health, 13(4), 503-517.
Sun, K. S., Cheng, Y. H., Wun, Y. T., & Lam, T. P. (2017). Choices between Chinese and Western medicine in Hong Kong–interactions of institutional environment, health beliefs and treatment outcomes. Complementary therapies in clinical practice, 28, 70-74.
