Open AccessCultural Sensitivity Beyond Ethnicity: A Universal Precautions Model
Author(s) -
Deborah Dysart Gale
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the internet journal of allied health sciences and practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1540-580X
DOI - 10.46743/1540-580x/2006.1094
Subject(s) - ethnic group , metaphor , perspective (graphical) , scholarship , sociology , hofstede's cultural dimensions theory , cultural diversity , health care , social psychology , psychology , social science , linguistics , anthropology , political science , computer science , law , philosophy , artificial intelligence
Cross-cultural healthcare research has grown exponentially in recent years, focusing primarily on the healthcare-related needs of ethnic and linguistic minorities. However, by approaching cultural sensitivity from an ethnic/linguistic perspective, the practitioner runs the risk of relying on essentialized or stereotyped accounts of cultural groups, as well as overlooking the needs of other groups (e.g., gays, elderly, physically challenged) that may validly be viewed as cultures and profitably studied with the tools of cross-cultural scholarship. This essay argues that Hofstede’s paradigm of cultural dimensions can serve as a useful foundation for providing culturally sensitive care following the model of Universal Precautions as a metaphor.