Australia has so many diverse communities made up of people from every country imaginable and the multicultural nature of our population will only increase. As Professional Carers in Aged Care this will have a huge effect on you as you find yourself caring for clients from all different types of cultures, each with their own traditions and ways of doing things.
Understanding the different cultures of your clients is vital to providing them with person-centred care, as you look to tailor your care to their individual needs. Being an informed carer will mean that you will be more flexible and more able to give your clients the best possible care that you can give to them.
As a place to start, here are some of the most common differences, in terms of a client’s culture, that you should be aware of when you’re delivering person-centred care.
Body language
No matter where you go, there will always be subtle and not-so-subtle differences in the body language and mannerisms of people from any given culture. It’s really important as a Professional Carer to be aware of these things when delivering personal care, and understand that these mannerisms could mean the opposite of what you think they mean or even offend someone. In Greek culture for example, showing the open palm of your hand (like when you’re gesturing for someone to stop) is considered to be extremely offensive.
There are so many of these subtle differences that you can’t possibly know them all, but you should always keep it in mind. Especially if you’re looking after someone from a different culture, be open to the fact that their body language and mannerisms might not mean what you think they mean at first glance.
A good way to deal with this is to consider the context in which the action is occurring – this can give you an indication that they might mean something else.
Food
Everyone needs to eat and this is something that doesn’t change from culture to culture. What does change though, is the way that each culture approaches food and this can manifest in different ways. These might include:
- Not being able to eat certain kinds of food – e.g. Jewish culture and not being able to eat pork products.
- Not being able to eat for certain periods – e.g. Cultures that practise religions such as Catholicism, Judaism, Islam will have periods where they have restrictions on what and when they can eat.
- How they eat – e.g. Those from a Chinese background will not leave a clean plate as in their culture it means that they haven’t been given enough food.
Taking the above into account and your client’s approach to food will mean that you can have a more person-centred approach to all aspects of your care, even during meal times, with the understanding that everyone eats differently.
Approach to the elderly
When it comes to looking after the elderly, things differ greatly from one culture to another. You’ll see in many Asian and African cultures that there is an emphasis on keeping their elderly loved ones at home, and caring for them themselves. Take Korean culture for example, where it’s the duty of the child to take care of their elderly parents instead of other family members or a carer. In contrast to this, you’ll find that Latin and Mediterranean cultures are all about having one big extended family (sometimes under one roof), meaning the responsibility of care for the elderly is spread across all generations.
As a Professional Carer, knowing how your client’s culture approaches ageing and implementing these considerations into your care is vital for delivering great person-centred care. Take some time to do a bit of research into your client’s background or talk to them to find out more. This information can inform your care, and putting it into practice can help your client feel more at ease – especially if one-on-one care with a Carer is not what they’re used to.
Hopefully this blog has given you a good head start on what to look out for when you’re considering the cultural aspects of your client and how you can look to implement it into your delivery of person-centred care.