Day 6

The Cherokee culture unfortunately deals with some very critical issues daily. Apart from health issues, they face issues with people not understanding their culture. Because of this, they may not receive adequate care or even attempt to seek care. There is currently a drug and alcohol epidemic. Diabetes and cardiovascular disease is also an issue. However, Kim discussed with us how now the drug and alcohol epidemic has surpassed those with diabetes. I believe you could argue some of this could be due to genetics as well as deficient knowledge in health maintenance. If you grow up in an environment in which you are never taught a healthy diet, how often and how to properly exercise, and exposed to addictive behaviors, you are likely to follow in the same track. Because of this, it is very important to be open and understanding of their situation. Education is extremely important as a nurse within this culture. Things we may take for granted because we know are things we may really need to consider when educating this population. In my opinion, the community and patient are at the center of the health care system. This healthcare system is patient-centered care. In earlier posts, I talked about the man in Snowbird who talked about putting the community first. Because the patient will likely put community first, they are also centered in healthcare. This is different from the typical healthcare experience because typically the providers and the facility are put first, especially if they are for profit. This will not work in this culture because the people need to know they can trust you. They need a community supported healthcare system to provide the best patient outcomes.