Cultural Respect and HealthcareFrom the National Institutes of Health (NIH):
What Is Cultural Respect?
Culture is often described as the combination of a body of knowledge, a body of belief, and a body of behavior. It involves several elements that are often specific to ethnic, racial, religious, geographic, or social groups. This includes personal identification, thoughts, language, actions, communications, beliefs, customs, values, and institutions. For the provider of health information, these elements influence beliefs and belief systems surrounding health, wellness, illness, healing, disease, and delivery of health services. The concept of cultural respect has a positive impact on patient care delivery by enabling providers to deliver programs and services that are respectful of and responsive to the health beliefs, practices, and cultural and linguistic needs of diverse patients.
