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Cultural Diversity in Mental Health

Introduction

Cultural diversity is how society grows, expands, and improves. Instead of focusing on a

specific set of beliefs or skills, cultural diversity encourages the world to see that there are

several different types of backgrounds to be incorporated and considered. The background of an

individual should not be the focus, but rather the way in which society can understand and adapt

to specific needs of a person. Cultural diversity should be respected in every aspect of healthcare.

Cultural Diversity

Mental health can create a barrier between the needs of an individual and the resources

they are provided with. Some cultures do not bring family members to receive the care they need

because they want to hide the problem, what they believe it to be. As informed by Illingworth

(2021), discrimination, and prejudice associated with mental health can prevent the proper care

from being delivered or even available. There are some who believe mental illness is a choice or

behavioral and others that grew up in a culture where mental health is not talked about or

addressed. This assigns a stigma to mental health and creates barriers to addressing the issue and

providing care.

Miller Fellows et. al., (2018) discuss the amount of known mental health in a specific

Amish community in Ohio, but the number of resources utilized were only by 17 members. That

does not mean that only 17 people needed resources, but instead only those individuals were the

only ones who knew how to or had access them. Miller Fellows et. al, (2018) points out that

17,020 Amish individuals lived in this specific settlement in Ohio. Based on the findings of this

research, that means 17 out of 17,020 were utilizing mental health resources, about 0.1%. In this

community, individuals who sought out counseling, medication or other resources were looked
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down on and lost trust from the rest of the population. The need for improvement in cultural

sensitivity and response to the issue of mental health has been made tremendously apparent.

According to Illingworth (2021), some people are being denied basic human rights because of

their mental illness and one girl stated that her culture did not have a word for depression. If a

person from such a culture begins presenting with a psychotic episode, family support is a crucial

part of the healing process. The lack of knowledge regarding the condition will insert a wedge

between the family, individual, and improvement. It is known that mental illness is not made up

and that there are resources available for accompanying those with and affected by mental

health. It is important to remove the cultural bias associated with mental illness and improve the

techniques society has cope with it.

Cultural Competence

To ensure that every provider is delivering culturally competent and diverse care to

patients in healthcare, the stigma associated with mental health needs to be changed. To deliver

the best care to patients suffering from mental health, it is imperative to know the resources that

are available. Taking into consideration the area in which a nurse works and knowing the nearby

treatment options will be a beneficial first step. Knowing what a patient has access to is a key

component in the ability to provide patient-centered care. To provide a SMART (Specific,

Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time specific) goal for patients, it must be attainable and

measurable. Nurses can do their part in confirming what resources will be attainable and

providing what is needed to obtain them.

Teaching is a crucial part in nursing as a whole but providing education on mental illness

can make a difference. Not only to the individual, but to the family or care givers as well. Instead

of allowing a newly diagnosed patient to leave with a discharge packet, the nurse should be
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offering empathetic teaching and education. Informing the family on what to expect and ways to

help is essential for the patients overall mental and physical health status. Another way to

provide the best care for the mental health population would be to enter into each nurse-patient

relationship with a positive, unbiased attitude. If a patient is diagnosed with mental illness, they

deserve the same respect a nurse would provide to all other patients. Do not talk down to or

belittle these patients. Do not get mad at patients suffering from psychotic episodes, but do what

is necessary to improve the patients current state. It is not acceptable to be afraid of someone

with mental illness. Standard precautions for every patient is a simile for standardized care for

every patient. Treat every patient with dignity.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, it is known that there is a large portion of the population suffering with

some form of mental illness. Finding ways providers can make a difference is a start to removing

the stigma associated with the condition. Cultural diversity in mental health is the ability to

respect a person’s situation and empathize with rather than criticize it. Nurses spend the most

time and have the opportunity to build a strong rapport with their patients. Adjusting the way in

which a nurse approaches a patient does not mean changing the quality of care that is being

provided. Being sensitive to a patient’s specific needs and adjusting the delivery of care to fit

each patient will make a difference. Allowing mental health patients to know they are not alone,

have available (accessible) resources and ways to cope is paramount in managing their care. No

cancer patient asked to be diagnosed with cancer much like no mental health patient wanted to be

diagnosed with mental illness. Educating patients, staff and family will help assist with the

transition into the diagnosis and can improve the overall prognosis.
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References

Illingworth, P. (2021). How do we engage global communities in the de-stigmatisation of mental

illness? British Journal of Nursing, 30(3), 184–187.

https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2021.30.3.184

Miller-Fellows, S. C., Adams, J., Korbin, J. E., & Greksa, L. P. (2018). Creating culturally

competent and responsive mental health services: a case study among the Amish

population of Geauga county, Ohio. Journal of Behavioral Health Services &

Research, 45(4), 627–639. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-018-9612-0