1. A patient from the Mexican heritage relates using a curandero for health care needs. What are the characteristics of this type of healer?

• a. Considered to be a religious figure
• b. Was born as a healer
• c. Taught the ways of healing through herbs
• d. All of the above.

2. In the Mexican health care system, what is the scope of practice of the partera?

• a. The care given is confined to the pregnant woman
• b. Only provides physical care
• c. Acts alone without doing other consultations or referrals
• d. Does not participate in labor and delivery

3. During a medical history with a patient from Puerto Rico, what preparations will the nurse need to include?

• a. Those obtained from a botanica
• b. Those obtained from a botanical center
• c. Those obtained from a healer
• d. Those obtained from a pharmacy

4. Which is a dilemma encountered by health care providers when trying to accommodate a patient of the Mexican culture’s desire to maintain hot and cold food preferences?

• a. Avoiding all foods that contain certain spices
• b. Understanding which foods the patient considers hot and cold
• c. Obtaining the unusual foods native to a Mexican patient’s diet
• d. Ensuring that all medications are taken with specific foods

5. Where might a patient of Puerto Rican heritage seek help when experiencing signs of a mental illness?

1. Milagros
2. Curanderismo
3. Santeria
4. Partera

Unit 4 Examination

HCA 340 Cultural Diversity in Health & Illness

6. What is a significant factor when caring for health problems of patients within the Hispanic culture?

• a. Lack of Spanish-speaking health care providers impeding appropriate care delivery
• b. Failure to highlight common chronic diseases among Hispanics in local media
• c. Overall population is young with a high birthrate compared to the general population
• d. Use of folk remedies creating cultural dissonance with the medical establishment

7. What would the combination of a young population, high birthrates, and lower socioeconomic status contribute to in the Hispanic population?

• a. Higher incidence of births to women under age 18
• b. Lower birth weight infants
• c. Higher percentage of first trimester prenatal care
• d. Higher infant mortality rate

8. Which health problem does the nurse identify as being a higher risk for the patient from the Hispanic culture when compared to the general population?

• a. Septicemia
• b. Unintentional injuries
• c. Chronic lower respiratory diseases
• d. Alzheimer’s disease

9. What would the nurse infer about the incidence of lung cancer being lower among Hispanic women versus that of the general population?

• a. Hispanic women are not genetically predisposed to lung cancer.
• b. Hispanic women are healthier than the general population.
• c. Hispanic women have better preventive health practices.
• d. Hispanic women are less likely to smoke.

10. What might a patient of German descent used to treat a stomachache?

• a. Drink peppermint tea
• b. Stop eating for at least 24 hours
• c. Take black draught
• d. Eat chicken soup

11. Which actions might a patient of German descent use to treat a cough?

• a. Rub goose fat on the chest
• b. Eating honey and milk
• c. Drinking rum
• d. All of the above.

Unit 4 Examination

HCA 340 Cultural Diversity in Health & Illness

12. When caring for a postoperative wound at home, what would a patient of German descent tend to use? 

• a. Kerosene
• b. Iodine
• c. Salves and liniments
• d. Onion compresses

13. For what would a patient of German descent use cloves?

• a. Headache
• b. Rheumatism
• c. Toothache
• d. Fever

14. What would a patient of Italian descent tell the nurse is the cause of pneumonia?

• a. Moving air in the form of drafts
• b. Eating food that was not nutritious
• c. Improper balance of fluids
• d. Not dressing properly

15. What will the nurse assess as an important component of healing for a patient of Italian descent?

• a. Religious faith in God
• b. Use of garlic and olive oil in tonics
• c. Wearing black when a family member is ill
• d. Eating pasta at every meal

16. What will a patient of Polish descent tell the nurse is used to treat a cough?

• a. Taking garlic oil
• b. Goose grease rubbed on the throat
• c. Drinking hot lemonade with whiskey
• d. A mustard plaster on the chest

17. What will a patient of Polish descent use to treat a burn?

• a. Aloe vera
• b. Salt pork
• c. Carbolic salve
• d. Turpentine and liniment

Unit 4 Examination

HCA 340 Cultural Diversity in Health & Illness

18. For what would a patient of Polish descent tell the nurse that paregoric is used?

• a. Gas
• b. Diarrhea
• c. Indigestion
• d. Cramps

19. In which ways does the current United States health care system create barriers to individuals from different cultures?

• a. Expectation to select a physician from a list
• b. Cost of treatments and tests
• c. Violation of cultural beliefs and practices
• d. All of the above.

20. How would the use of patient advocates bridge the gap of inadequate numbers of health care providers representing culturally diverse population groups?

• a. Speak to patients in their native language
• b. Coordinate services to meet the patients’ needs
• c. Resolve problems
• d. All of the above.

21. The health care administrator is identifying ways to improve communication with non-English- speaking patients. Which languages would the administrator target as being spoken by hospital employees?

• a. Russian
• b. Chinese
• c. Spanish
• d. None of the above.

22. The nurse is experiencing collisions when attempting to improve cultural competency. What types of collisions is this nurse experiencing?

• a. Meeting dense cultural barriers
• b. Sabotaged efforts
• c. Unexpected hills
• d. a and b only

23. Two nurses are overhead talking about their experiences with cultural competency. Which experience would be considered an unexpected positive event?

• a. Deep love of life and people
• b. Role of a healer within a culture
• c. Learning a foreign language
• d. Being an advocate for funding

Unit 4 Examination

HCA 340 Cultural Diversity in Health & Illness

24. What self-observation does the nurse make that indicates that the nurse is “on the road” to cultural competency?

• a. Socialized by society
• b. Individual culture and religion
• c. Adhering to ways to protect health that are consistent with the dominant culture
• d. Avoiding the use of amulets

25. What action would a nurse take to learn more about the different cultures represented in the community?

• a. Walk through the community
• b. Prepare a guide sheet with a list of herbs
• c. Recognize hot-cold imbalances
• d. Recognize folk diseases