Open AccessSome People are Different from You: A Case Study of a Cultural and Ethical Problem in Global Health
Author(s) -
John Rovers,
E Ulrich
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
innovations in pharmacy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2155-0417
DOI - 10.24926/iip.v13i2.4919
Subject(s) - cultural issues , trips architecture , ethical issues , service (business) , cultural competence , medical education , health care , cultural diversity , psychology , public relations , nursing , medicine , engineering ethics , political science , business , law , pedagogy , marketing , parallel computing , computer science , engineering
Pharmacists, student pharmacists, and other healthcare providers are frequent participants on short-term medical service trips (MSTs) to medically underserved areas. Many such MSTs take place in areas like sub-Saharan Africa where cultural beliefs about healthcare and society may be very different from what volunteers from the Global North believe. These cultural divergences may then give rise to ethical problems MST volunteers need to navigate. This case study provides an example of such an ethical problem developing from a difference in cultures - the case of female genital cutting. Often, the ethical training that most MST volunteers receive during their clinical education is inadequate to help them address these kinds of cultural differences and the problems that result. A six-step process to provide MST volunteers with the tools to address such cultural-ethical problems is included. Medical, Public Health, and Microfinance Teams with local interpreters in Nana Kenieba, Cercle of Kati, Koulikoro Region, Southwest Mali.