Discussion
Jay and Sue Kim, ages 29 and 26 years and married for 2 years, immigrated from South Korea and settled in Los Angeles. They have lived in a small one-bedroom apartment since their arrival. Both graduated from the same Korean university with baccalaureate degrees in English literature. They have one child, Joseph, age 1 year. When they arrived in the United States, Jay was unable to find a job because of his poor proficiency in English, despite his major in English literature. He eventually obtained a job with a moving company through a church friend. Sue is not working because of their son. Although the Kim’s did not attend a church before immigration, they are now regularly attending a Korean Protestant church in their neighborhood.
Sue is pregnant again, determined by a home pregnancy kit, with their second child and concerned about the medical costs. They did not use any contraceptives because she was breastfeeding. Because of financial limitations, Sue did not initially have prenatal care with her first pregnancy. However, she did keep up with the Korean traditional prenatal practice, tae-kyo. Eventually, she received help from her church and delivered a healthy son. She is not sure whether she can get financial help from her church again but is confident that her second child will be healthy if she follows the Korean traditional prenatal practices.
Jay is concerned about job security because he recently heard from colleagues that the moving company might soon go bankrupt. Although Jay has not been satisfied with his current job (he thinks that he is overqualified), this news is still a cause for concern. Moreover, Sue’s recent pregnancy has made Jay more stressed, and he has started drinking alcohol. Joseph cannot stand up by himself and still wants to be breastfed. Although Sue has tried to give foods such as oranges, apples, steamed rice, and milk (because she is now pregnant), Joseph refuses to eat them and cries for breastfeeding. Joseph’s weight is low-normal for same-age babies.
Questions
Describe the Korean cultural practice tae-kyo. Is this practice congruent with allopathic recommendations for prenatal care?
How do food choices among Koreans differ with pregnancy and postpartum?
Describe cultural attitudes toward drinking among Koreans.
Identify two or three culturally congruent strategies a healthcare provider might use to address Jay’s drinking.
Read and watch the lecture resources & materials below early in the week to help you respond to the discussion questions and to complete your assignment(s).
Read
Purnell text: Chapter 16, 17, and 20
Supplemental Materials & Resources
Read: Hodge, D. (2004). Working with Hindu clients in a spiritually sensitive manner. Social Work, 49(1), 27-38. doi:sw/49.1.27
Read: Beltran, R., Simms, T., Lee, H., & Kwon, M. (2016). HPV Literacy and Associated Factors Among Hmong American Immigrants: Implications for
Reducing Cervical Cancer Disparity. Journal of Community Health, 41(3), 603-611. doi:10.1007/s10900-015-0135-9
Read: Kim, S., Kim-Godwin, Y., & Koenig, H. (2016). Family Spirituality and Family Health Among Korean-American Elderly Couples. Journal of Religion
& Health, 55(2), 729-746. doi:10.1007/s10943-015-0107-5
Answers
Aggregate For Cultural – Specific Groups 4
The United States is a melting pot of diversity- the country hosts immigrants from various countries, including Korean. Upon arrival in the country, some individuals prefer to affirm their original cultural practices, as is evident in the case scenario. Most notably, Koreans uphold cultural traditions such as Taekyo, variant food choices, and distinct attitudes towards drinking habits, which require healthcare providers to adopt culturally congruent practices such as engaging families in decisions about care and respecting personal space when dealing with patients.
One of the most common cultural practices observed by childbearing Korean women is Taekyo. Taekyo is a “set of traditional prenatal self-care which originally starts from being prepared as a parent even before the conception” (Lee, 2015, p.241). Taekyo consists of a set of philosophies and principles that childbearing women should abide by to ensure that the fetus experiences a healthy physical and emotional development. For example, childbearing women are encouraged to appreciate beautiful things and avoid taboos, such as handling unclean things to prevent difficulties during birth (Lee, 2015). In essence, Taekyo is a philosophy that governs the behavior, attitude, and principles of women from conception to delivery.
Elements of Taekyo are both incongruent and parallel to allopathy recommendations for prenatal care. For example, orthodox prenatal care in countries such as the United States is considered as a crucial public health intervention (Carter et al., 2016). Most notably, the allopathic recommendations require pregnant women to exercise routine prenatal visits to the doctor to facilitate monitoring of the fetal development and assess the mother’s progress, which correspondingly reduces the chances of complications during delivery. Conversely, Taekyo practices guide childbearing women to exercise traditional self-monitoring during pregnancy rather than seeking prenatal care, as is the case with Sue in the case study. On the other hand, some Taekyo philosophies, such as pregnancy environment as an essential aspect in a fetus’s physical and mental development, are congruent with current recommendations of prenatal care (Giger & Haddad, 2020). As such, the traditional practice of Taekyo is partly congruent and incongruent with the allopathic recommendations for prenatal care.
Besides Taekyo, food choices among Koreans are influenced by the culture, and they tend to vary during pregnancy and postpartum. For example, during pregnancy, Korean women are forbidden from consuming eggs and ducks because they are thought to harm the appearance of the fetus (Mckinney et al., 2012). As such, alternative sources of calcium are sought during pregnancy. Also, Postpartum Korean women consume special seaweed soup made with beef broth to help stimulate the production of milk and rid the body of lochia (Simpson & Creehan, 2008). As such, while dealing with Korean immigrants, nurses must have an understanding of their food taboos to avoid recommending diets that differ from the Korean culture.
Besides prenatal care and diet choices, Koreans also have a distinct attitude towards alcohol consumption. Drinking alcohol is thought to be a bad habit and an unhealthy lifestyle (Kim et al., 2016). Often, Koreans believe that such unhealthy habits can be eradicated through family spirituality, such as prayers from family members and the church.
As noted in this paper, the Korean culture varies significantly from the westernized culture, which implies that nurses should be culturally competent when dealing with Korean immigrants. Therefore, Jay’s drinking problem can only be addressed through the adoption of culturally congruent strategies by a healthcare provider. One of the strategies that can be used include involving the family in discussions regarding Jay’s care. As the literature suggests, making decisions about healthcare involving serious illness among Koreans requires the engagement of the whole family (“Communicating with your Korean Patient”, n.d.). Hence, the healthcare provider should engage Jay’s wife in discussions that involve Jay’s care. Also, the healthcare provider should understand and respect the patient’s personal space. It is opined that Koreans highly value emotional self-control, and appearing stoic (“Communicating with your Korean Patient”, n.d.). Therefore, the healthcare provider should respect this personal space while soliciting information about Jay’s drinking problem. If adhered to, these culturally congruent strategies can help Jay refrain from his drinking habit.
References
“Communicating with your Korean patient” (n.d.). Washington Education. https://depts.washington.edu/pfes/PDFs/KoreanCultureClue.pdf
Carter, E.B., Tuuli, M.G., Caughey, A.B., Odibo, A.O., Macones, G.A., Cahill, A.G. (2016). Number of prenatal visits and pregnancy outcomes in low-risk women. Journal of Perinatology, 36(3), 178-181. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038%2Fjp.2015.183
Giger, J.N., & Haddad, L. (2020). Transcultural nursing- E-book: Assessment and intervention (8th ed.). Elsevier Health Science. ISBN: 0323695558, 978032369668
Kim, S., Kim-Godwin, Y., & Koenig, H. (2016). Family spirituality and
family health among Korean-American elderly couples. Journal of Religion
and Health, 55(2), 729-746. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10943-015-0107-5
Lee, K. (2015). Korean immigrant women’s Taekyo practices in the United States as a traditional prenatal self-care. Korean Journal of Women Health Nursing, 21(3), 241-251. http://dx.doi.org/10.4069/kjwhn.2015.21.3.241
McKinney, E.S., James, S.R., Murray, S.S., Nelson, K., & Ashwill, J. (2012). Maternal – Child nursing (4th ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences. ISBN: 1437727751, 9781437727753
Simpson, K.R., & Creehan, P.A. (2008). Perinatal nursing. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
