Culturally oriented healthcare for obese Black women


Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

5143.0: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 - 1:15 PM

Abstract #114593

Carolyn Rutledge, PhD, CFNP¹, Laurel Garzon, DNsc¹, Richardean Benjamin, PhD¹, Stacey B. Plichta, ScD², Micah Scott, MS,, CFNP¹, and Rita Klahr, MS, CFNP¹. (1) School of Nursing, Old Dominion University, 2089 Hughes Hall, Norfolk, VA 23508, 757-481-1036, crutledg@odu.edu, (2) College of Health Sciences, Old Dominion University, 129 Spong Hall, Norfolk, VA 23529

One of the most frequently encountered healthcare scenarios consists of the obese Black woman with diabetes, hypertension, and joint pain. Regardless what type of provider they see or how often they see them, frequently the situation remains unchanged. As a result, morbidity and mortality remain high, further increasing healthcare costs. Many of the healthcare problems encountered by this population can be improved with lifestyle changes that often do not occur. One potential barrier to making needed changes may be related to the provider-patient relationship. If the provider is not culturally competent when it comes to assisting the patient in making behavioral changes, their effectiveness with the patient will be limited. According to Campinha-Bacote's model of Cultural Competency, a culturally competent individual must possess awareness, knowledge, skills, and desire regarding working with such patients. This is best achieved through patient encounters. Through this project, nurse practitioner students were assessed based on these cultural competency constructs through assessment tools and a standardized patient encounter. The students were then given feedback by the standardized patient regarding how to best approach such patient from a culturally oriented perspective. Data will be presented regarding the students' performance related to each construct.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, participants will be able to

1)Recognize barriers that Black women encounter when seeking care for obesity related issues.
2)Analyze where they possess strengths and weaknesses regarding their own cultural competence.
3)Develop a plan of care for the Black woman with obesity related health concern reflecting cultural competence.

Keywords: African American, Cultural Competency

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Obesity and Physical Activity: Meeting the Challenge of the New Epidemic

The 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition (December 10-14, 2005) of APHA