it’s not always easy to achieve due to the complexities that are associated with it. First there are a lot of disagreements in palliative care field in the definition of suffering. also the entire family (Searight& Gafford, 2005). The suffering of the family members has a potential of aggravating the suffering of the patient. In the case that will be discussed in this essay, there is cultural conflict with the management of a patient with terminal cancer. Relatives want to manage their patient at home using alternative or complimentary medicine instead of using the mainstream medical practices.

Enhanced cultural competency continuespatients’ behaviors, preferences, attitudes and decisions around the end of life care (Kwak& Haley, 2005).s that, he or she maintains beliefs that are associated with that culture or ethnicity. In addition, an assessment is necessary to determine acculturation of the affected person. Healthcare providers should be aware of the overall cultural values and examine how the pertinent themes affect the provision of quality care to the patient (Cerimagic, 2013). Remember that there exist a lot of diversity between

Emotional problems and psychological problems become evident as the patient confront the palliative phase of an illness and the certain impending death. Palliative care goes beyond the management of the symptoms but also tries to address the psychological stress that is impacted to the patient and the family members (Searight& Gafford, 2005). tress to the involved caregiver (Kwak & Haley, 2005).Appropriatebereavement period.

In the presented case, Ella who is the patient suffering from end stages of cancer does not want to stay in hospital and follow the mainstream medical practices. She wants to be cared from home using alternative and complimentary medications. She has been using these complimentary medicationshusband also wants her to be treated at home using the complimentary medications as this is their cultural belief (Hopp& Duffy, 2000). This belief has a likelihood of causing conflict between the family and the health care workers because they believe that alternative and complimentary medicines are not the best options for a terminally ill patient. Ella and some of her family members, on the other hand, have a cultural belief that alternative medication can work. This belief will obvious pose a challenge in the palliative management of Ella.

The family members are divided. Some believe that alternative medication is better than mainstream medication practices. There are still some who believe that the hospital or modern treatment is the best to care for Ella’s condition. Manny, who is Sarah’s father tell them that they are crazy because of supporting Ella’s choice of alternative medication. The healthcare workers, on the other hand, are coercing her to follow the mainstream medical practices (Searight& Gafford, 2005). The disagreements cause dissatisfactions among the family members who feel that their beliefs are not respected.

The biological basis for care of the Miller family is not accommodative and can lead to deterioration of the health of the whole family. The choice of using alternative and complimentary medication as the biological basis for care is not the best option in a world full of complicated diseases (Kwak & Haley, 2005).The current complex diseases require the use of the modern technology for their management.Miller’s family members have various disease conditions. For example, Ella’sSon Sam is an alcoholic, daughter Lila is diabetic and Grandson Josh is starting to have drug problems. Others are suffering from stress, bipolar, leukemia and HIV. These diseases require mainstream medical practices for their management. Sarah’s father tells

There is significance macro influences on Ella’s medical condition and prognosis. The cultural believes that Ella and some of her family members have are community-based. The traditions and norms belong to the culture of that community (Searight& Gafford, 2005). Ella’scommunity believes in alternative and complementary medicine, and this has negatively affected her medical condition and prognosis. The mezzo influences include the health beliefs of Ella’sneighborhood. The cultural beliefs and norms of the immediate community members surrounding Ella’s family. Their beliefs affect the belief of Ella and that why she prefers alternative medication.These beliefs also affect her health negatively.

The micro influence is evident. Ella’s husband wants her wife to be treated with alternative medication, and he says that the fasome are not happy about the decision like Sarah’s father who says they are crazy. The family beliefs affecther health negatively (Cerimagic, 2013). Her discharge plan should consider the alternative medication that will be used. The plan should explain how they will be used, mechanism of action and their interaction and side effects. The healthcare workers should give relevant health education about the disease and the importance of effective palliative care. They should also advise the family members to bring the patient back to the hospital if her condition worsens. The community resources available will include the social, psychological support and the alternative medications. These community resources cannot adequately, cater for the diverse circumstances that are facing this family. These resources like the alternative medication are not proven to be effective in managing cancer. The family should instead seek the help of

Palliative care raises various medical issues. These issues include the best care that the palliative care patient should be given and how the psychological issues to the family can be managed. Healthcare workers strive to employ the best interventions that lead to the reduction of physical suffering of the patient and the psychological distress that affect both the patient and the family members(Kwak & Haley, 2005).These interventions include the use of modern technology such as chemotherapy, radiation and use of surgery to manage cancer. It also involves various tests such as barium X-ray, blood tests, cystoscopy, endoscopy and CT scan. Hospital care is advantageous over home care in several ways. It’s very accurate, use modern technology, offer emergency care and the tests and medication used are scientifically proven, unlike the home where the care is mainly based on guesswork. Homecare does not recognize hemodynamics changes in patient early enough unlike hospital care where they are recognized early, and management commenced immediately.

The family is facing several psychological and social issues. Miller’s wife Sarah is stressed because of the sickness of her mother in law. Miller’s brother is an alcoholic, and several others family members have a history of drug abuse. The family may face other serious psychological issues such as depression if this situation is not addressed well (Searight& Gafford, 2005). Social issues include rejection by the community members as they feel that the family is becoming a burden to them. This illness has impacted negatively on the welfare of the family. They have spent all their resources in the management of this condition to no avail. This scenario is very diverse in the way it impacts cultural, psychological and social perspectives. Culturally, some family members want to follow their belief of using alternative medication to manage diseases while others don’t have this belief. Psychologically it has caused stress disorders and has contributed to the drug abuse by family members. Sociologically, it has resulted in the rejection from community members.

The lifespan development of this family member is poor. Their intellectual capacity is low that is why most indulge in bad behavior like drug abuse. They don’t want to use their cognitive abilities to make logical decisions concerning their health. They refused to use their insight well to decide that end stage cancercannot be managed with alternative medicine (Hopp & Duffy, 2000). Their judgment is also poor. They could not use deductive judgment to understand that hospital care is better than homecare. This can shorten their life span significantly. They just decided to follow their sociocultural beliefs even on serious issues such as health. Their preference was to use the alternative medication. These observations prove that they lacked understanding of cancer. Their ignorance may impact negatively on their health.

The whole case study indicates the strong influence that cultural beliefs, traditions, and social norms impact in the healthcare. Many factors including culture and ethnicity affect people’sbe taught to communities members.

References

Cerimagic, S. (2013). CROSS-CULTURAL EFFECTS ON CANCER PATIENT-DOCTOR COMMUNICATION. European Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 1(12), 192-200.

Hopp, F. P., & Duffy, S. A. (2000). Racial variations in end-of-life care. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Kwak, J., & Haley, W. E. (2005). Current research findings on end-of-life decision making among racially or ethnically diverse groups. The Gerontologist, 45(5), 634-641.

Searight, H. R., & Gafford, J. (2005). Cultural diversity at the end of life: issues and guidelines for family physicians. Am Fam Physician, 71(3), 515-522.

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