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Cultural Health beliefs in a Nursing Practice

Student: Jaspreet Kaur
Student Number: 822-297-909
Date submitted: October 9th, 2013
Nursing 161 Assignment: Scholarly Paper
Professor: Sharon Aka
Humber College: North Campus

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Introduction
The meaning of nursing is not merely to recognize different cultures but furthermore gain
knowledge of the diverse cultural health beliefs and learn how to comprehend and respect them. The
rationale of this paper is to explore different personal and cultural health values that are different from
one another but may share similar characteristics. There are various components that are being
discussed in this paper; educating readers of different cultural beliefs as well as personal beliefs that are
inherited from a Sikhs point of view. I discuss the interaction and relationship between personal health
beliefs and well as cultural health beliefs as a Sikh, how it affect s my life as well as different life
changes that I can make to improve my health overall. Then, I take this paper further and compare it to
different cultural beliefs that Muslims follow and discuss how this will influence my nursing practice
as a future nurse.
Definition of Health
In my opinion, the characterization of good quality health is the holistic approach to healthiness.
This means, where the entity itself is happy with their physical body, spiritually stable and sensitively
balanced. I believe that this is incredibly significant because I feel that the bodily wellbeing is not the
only constituent to excellent health. The brain and the emotional aspect of the body have plenty to do
with enhancing health. When the individual is mentally secure and expressively healthy, it then makes
it harder for that person to collapse. My definition of good health in comparison to the definition of
World Health Organization (WHO) is very similar because it also covers the same mechanism as I do
for ensuring good health. It expresses Health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well
being and not merely the absence of disease (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2013). When I interpret
this definition, finishing off saying and not merely the absence of disease, is the most knowledgeable
in my perceptive. The reason why I express this is that like examined in class, although the individual

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might not have any disease, this does not necessarily mean that they are healthy. There are other
components into having good health and being disease free is not enough.
Personal Health Beliefs
There are many health attitudes that I have become skilled at to obey, make me the person I am
today. Some of my health beliefs are adapted through our North American Society while they convey
some of my cultural values as a Sikh. One of my strongest beliefs for a healthy lifestyle is exercise. In
my opinion, it is very important to exercise at least four times a week in order to reduce your chances
of high blood pressure and other heart diseases. Although time is a huge problem in our world today, I
make an effort to go to the gym 4 times a week for at least an hour each day so that I can keep fit.
Another component to a health life is the amount of sleep that is required. Although not always met, I
try to get 7 hours of sleep everyday so I have the energy I need for the oncoming day. The reason why I
say this is, receiving only 4 hours of sleep a night is not allowing your body to get the required rest it
needs so it can function properly the next morning. Along with this, by allowing your body to sleep for
12 hours is causing you to become lazy as an individual where eventually 12 hours of sleep a night will
no longer be enough for you. It is important to have a balanced understanding so that you are able to
train your body into doing what is right. Another element to a vigorous lifestyle is the attitude we as
individuals carry out throughout the day. In my opinion, I strongly believe by having a positive attitude
throughout the day, you will be a lot healthier. I try to have a positive attitude towards different
situations I face every day because by having a good approach to my problems, it makes it easier for
me to solve them, and decreases my stress levels. By doing this, I am then emotionally happy and
healthy. I cope with stress and my problems when I know I can no longer handle it is by connecting
with my friends and family and expressing how I feel so that they can guide me in the right direction.
This is why I feel one of the most important factors that determine good health is the social network
that people have around them. By receiving the positive vibe of other people and feeding it to yourself,

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it helps you look at different situations in a different aspect. This is very important to understand as a
future nurse because there will be various situations where I know I will need help and feel stress, but
by having a good support group around you to help you deal with different scenarios, it becomes a lot
easier to handle. Lastly, health beliefs also depend a lot on the individuals employment and working
conditions. Although I try my best to go to the gym at least 4 times a week, with school and work,
sometimes it becomes difficult. Sometimes I do not get enough time to myself to do so. Along with
this, employment is a huge factor including income. Although I would love to do a lot more for my
health and join different activities, working part time makes it difficult for me to do because my income
in minimum which limits my spending dramatically .
Values as a Sikh
My cultural values as a Sikh have a huge impact on my health life due to the traditional
practices that I incorporate in my everyday living. There are many different cultural beliefs that I
follow. The first and most important rule that is followed as a Sikh is by eliminating meat from my
meal plan on Sundays. As a Sikh, the three most important days are Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday.
These 3 days are considered religious days and as a part of my culture, I respect this by not eating meat
on Sundays. This also includes no Alcohol. The reason why I say this affects my health is, personally
meat is something that I feel like I must include in my lunch and dinner meals everday, but when I
cannot do so on Sundays, mentally I feel weak and find it very difficult to eat because my choices
become limited. On the other hand, I feel like it positively affects my health because it forces me to not
consume any alcohol and eat a lot of fruits and vegetables on Sunday. Another cultural belief that
affects my life is a traditional cure to reduce the pain of cramps. In order to reduce the pain of cramps, I
mix a teaspoon of fennel seeds and mix it in a glass of warm milk or add it in a cup of tea. This works
within 10 minutes after drinking it. In addition, I deal with different illnesses without having to go to
the doctors in a variety of ways. When I have a fever, there are many cultural remedies that I use in

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order to feel better. An example of this is adding ginger to my tea in order to get rid of my fever.
Mediation is also a great way to deal with depression and anxiety. This is done through yoga exercises
that are instructed by a religious man Baba Ram-Dev. In the Sikh culture, a steel bracelet referred to
as a Kara is worn not only as a symbolic representation of signifying bondage to Truth and freedom
from every other entanglement ( SikhNet, 2013), but helps you remain calm, and helps deal with
anger. Overall, there are various cultural beliefs that influence my personal life in a positive way and
help me deal with various situations with a positive attitude.
Recuperating my Health
There are many different strategies I can to do daily to enhance my health overall. To begin
with, I can make the effort to go to the gym for a longer period of time so that I am getting a better
workout. This will help my overall body improve physically. Another change I can make to improve
my health is avoiding eating after 7 pm and if I do decide to eat, then making the right choice in food.
This is especially significant because this will help me maintain my weight and as well as force me to
have breakfast every morning. Although I am aware that breakfast is the most important meal of the
day, it is difficult for me to have breakfast every morning because I always have late bedtime snacks.
By avoiding late bedtime snacks, it will cause my body to crave breakfast and remain healthy.
Cultural Beliefs of a Muslim
Exploring the differences and similarities of health beliefs between Sikhs and Muslims was
very interesting. I decided to interview my neighbor who is a part of the Muslim culture. The reason
why I decided to compare the two is that although there are some similarities between the two, there
are various differences between the two faiths. To begin with, the varieties of foods we eat differ from
one another. While both Sikhs and Muslims eliminate pork from there dietary plan, Muslims only eat
halal meats. Before the animal can be slaughtered, it must in the name for Allah (The Kitchn, 2000).

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By doing this, the Muslim culture feel that they have now been granted approval to make these actions
acceptable. On the other hand, as a Sikh, I have not allowed to eat any halal meats because in my
cultural we believe that they way the meat is cut is wrong. This was very interesting to me because I
am aware that while some cultures are very similar to one another, their beliefs may differ in a wide
range. Another difference between the two cultural is the different events that are celebrated. In the
Muslim culture, fasting is a huge part of the culture where Muslims all over the world have particular
timings of when they can eat; which is before the sunset rises and after the sun sets. As a Sikh, a part of
my culture is not to fast because we believe that we can only fast when it is necessary. The golden rule
about fasting is: Fast only when you must, in the interest of your health (SikhNet, 2013). This belief is
stating that Sikhs should only fast when it is related to health. An example of this would be going for a
blood test where you cannot eat food for 12 hours. Comparing the two, it is clear the two beliefs are
very different from one another but each culture is very strong about the way they feel. A similarity
between both the Sikh cultural as well as the Muslim culture is that it carrots are very good for
improving eyesight because they look like a pupil once cut in half. While both cultures have beliefs that
are opposite from one another, neither of them are wrong.
Nursing Practice in the Future
After interviewing a friend with different cultural health beliefs, I am certain that my nursing
practice will be influence in a positive way. The reason why I say this is that I am now more aware of
the different beliefs that Muslims follow. Something new that I learnt from this interview is the
limitation of eye contract between difference sexes. In the Muslim culture, it is wrong from a female to
be touched by another male even if it is related to healthcare. This will influence my nursing practice
because I have gained the knowledge in order to interact with different Muslims and know what the
Muslim community accepts and what is wrong. Along with this, I have learnt that in a situation where a
male physician must provide care to a female of the Muslim culture, her husband must be present in

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order for this behavior to be acceptable. This has made me realize the complexity of nursing and how
important it is to ensure that all faiths are understood and respected to the best of my ability in order to
ensure excellent health. Another belief that is very important to respect is fasting that is a practice in
the Muslim culture. Becoming aware of the different timings when individuals practicing fasting have
taught be different ways how I can respect this belief and help set a positive environment for my
coworkers and me. One way this can be achievable is by switching shifts during this time of the year so
that Muslim nurses are able to eat and by energized on their duty so that perfection is performed.
Conclusion
In conclusion, examining different health beliefs and relating them to cultural remedies of two
different cultures allowed me to become more knowledgeable with different practices. In this paper,
many personal and cultural health beliefs were explored of Sikhs as well as Muslims. Providing care
for the patient is a part of the nursing profession, but when you as the nurse have a strong base of
understanding different cultural values, this job then becomes a passion.

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References
NP Practice Resources - CNO.College of Nurses of Ontario. Retrieved October 9, 2013, from
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Fast Facts on Sikhism - ReligionFacts. Religion, World Religions, Comparative Religion - Just the facts
on the world's religions.. Retrieved October 9, 2013, from
http://www.religionfacts.com/sikhism/fastfacts.htm
Good Question: What is Halal Meat? | The Kitchn. (2000, August 3). The Kitchn | Inspiring cooks,
nourishing homes. Retrieved October 9, 2013, from http://www.thekitchn.com/good-questionwhat-is-halal-me-60979
Introduction to Sikhism - The Sikh way of life.. (n.d.). SikhNet | Sharing the Sikh Experience.
Retrieved October 9, 2013, from http://fateh.sikhnet.com/s/Sikhintro