Diet No restrictions Euthanasia Favor nonaction
May withdraw therapies if death imminent Healing beliefs Faith healing: seen as “superstitious” Healing practices Use of science to facilitate healing Medications No restrictions Organ donations Acceptable Right-to-die issues Favor the right to die with dignity Surgical procedures No restrictions Visitors Family, friends, church members
Source: Adapted with permission from Andrews, M. M., & Hanson, P. A. (1995). Religion, culture, and nursing, In J. S. Boyle & M. M. Andrews (Eds.), Transcultural concepts in nursing care (2nd ed.) (pp. 371–406). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott. Used with permission.
Table 6–1 continued
136 ■ Chapter 6
not to generalize from this guide when relating to an individual patient and family. It is important to show respect, sensitivity, and an awareness and under- standing of the different perspectives that may exist and to be able to convey to the patient and family your desire to understand their viewpoint on health care.
■ HEALING and Today’s Beliefs It is not an accident or a coincidence that today, more so than in recent years, we are not only curious but vitally concerned about the ways of HEALING that our ancestors employed. Some critics of today’s health care system choose to condemn it, with more vociferous critics, such as Illich (1975), citing its failure to create a utopia for humankind. It is obvious to those who embrace a more moderate viewpoint that diseases continue to occur and that they outflank our ability to cure or prevent them. Once again, many people are seeking the ser- vices of people who are knowledgeable in the arts of HEALING and folk medi- cine. Many patients may elect, at some point in their lives, more specifically during an ILLNESS, to use modalities outside the medical establishment. It is important to understand the HEALERS.