The Cultural Context for Communicating Care

Abstract

The modern age is one of international integration and intercultural exchange. The speed and ease with which individuals can share information internationally means almost any discussion can move from the local to the global instantly (Collins, 2010). Local interactions can thus have global consequences individual actors might never fully realize (Kleineberg & Boguña´, 2016). At the same time, trends in international migration and global employment mean communities increasingly encompass individuals from varying cultural and linguistic backgrounds (Milanovic, 2013). Such factors have important implications for communicating about medicine, health, and care on global and local levels. The ease with which humans can travel internationally means infections can spread rapidly across the globe (Tatem, Rogers, & Hay, 2006). This situation also means addressing disease outbreaks and treating afflicted populations requires a global perspective (World Health Organization, 2018). As a result, health organizations around the world increasingly exchange information to address local health situations (Evans, 2016). In this way, public health has become a matter of global interaction and exchange. In these situations, effective cross-cultural communication is essential to success (Rajiv, Rimal, & Lapinski, 2009). Yet engaging in such exchanges is not easy, for the contexts in which they occur are often complex. Successful interactions in these situations involve integrating concepts from health, medical, and care communication with ideas from international and cross-cultural communication.

Technical Writing for the Health and Fitness Professional

“…The context that surrounds any health and fitness professional’s practice also includes the setting in which care is given, the tools used to assess fitness, the fitness level of the local population, the particular culture’s relationship to care, surrounding environmental factors, etc. (7).…”

Guest Editor’s Introduction: Culture and Causal Chains of Care—A Perspective on the Chronology of Health and Medical Communication in Cross-Cultural Contexts

“…Cultural approaches to care often differ according to how groups perceive the context of care , or settings where one administers or receives treatment (St.Amant, 2017a). Cultures can have varying expectations of how to assess and address health and wellness in different situations (St.Amant, 2019). In some instances, cultures differ in the bodily processes examined when evaluating health.…”

“…The approaches used to provide care, however, can vary from culture to culture (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2015). The better we understand such differences, the more effectively we can share care-related information across cultures (St.Amant, 2019).…”