Heritage assessment to evaluate the needs of families and develop plans for health maintenance, health protection, and health restoration is necessary in any health care setting.
Most of the first world countries have been experiencing migration of people from all over the world. This relocation and immigration is as a result of war, famine, political instabilities in their countries of origin or in search of greener pasture. These countries end up having human interaction with people from all walks of life who come along with their cultures and traditions and believes. Different communities are formed among the locals leading to interaction of multiple and different cultural practices.
this cross-cultural interaction causes challenges in community, work and also in health care delivery. In all this health care is mostly hard hit when patients from different cultures present to hospitals and firmly cling to their cultural practices, believes and customs. Health care providers have to develop a way to overcome thi s challenges and this is when heritage assessment tool comes in handy.Using heritage assessments to evaluate the needs of patients and families is essential because it enable the health care provider understand the patients cultural back ground, believe, health practices and their traditions,This enable the provider to remain in cultural context of family and patient which decreases chances of misunderstanding or conflict between both parties while delivering patient centered care.According to American Nurses Association(2017)the aim of heritage assessment is to obtain accurate information from patient that will allow nurses to formulate a mutually acceptable and culturally relevant treatment plan for the patient (American Nurses Association,2017).Its vital for health care provider to know what patient from another culture believe about the care you inted to provide and what influence those belive have to patient as a person.patient receiving treatment within their believes has less anxiety hence responding well to care.
