Revised Title "Curanderismo: Healing Holistically in Latino Communities"

The article name has been changed to "Curanderismo: Healing
Holistically in Latino Communities"


Curanderismo is a Latino holistic — mind, body and soul — approach to health, originating from the early colonial period Catholicism and pre-Columbian indigenous medicinal practices in Latin America. Because of the widespread dissemination of Catholicism during the early Spanish conquests of Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South Americas, most Latinos are familiar with the basic practices and precepts of curanderismo. Within these geographical regions, there is diversity from one nation to another as well as intraethnic diversity in the practices and beliefs of curanderismo. Also known as Mexican folk medicine in the Southwestern U.S., it incorporates physical as well as spiritual and soul-related explanatory models of health and illness. There are no discrete lines between physical and mental health, similar in this respect to some traditional Eastern medicinal views. Treatable ailments encompass social, emotional, mental and physical problems.

A curandero, "male healer" in Spanish (or a curandera, “female healer” in Spanish), is often a respected and revered elder with spiritual gifts, whose job it is to tend to the health and psycho-spiritual needs of his community. Typically full of compassion, affection and good will, this person is an essential member of the local community who develops life-long bonds with the families he/she serves. He or she is the first person who people turn to in crisis, distress or spiritual discontentment, seeking consolation, understanding and, in some cases, divination. Prescribed treatments can range from herbs, massage, manipulation of body parts, spiritual rituals, exorcisms, and prayer — in combination or singly. A curandero consults and treats the entire family for an issue affecting one individual in the household as the ailment, curse, or spiritual issue may be viewed as affecting all members of the family.

Medical anthropologist Renaldo Maduro, PhD, states in his article, “Curanderismo and Latino Views of Disease and Curing,”  West J Med. 1983 December; 139(6): 868–874 that:

“There are eight major philosophical premises underlie a coherent curing world view of Latino patients: disease or illness may follow..

(1) strong emotional states (such as rage, fear, envy or mourning of painful  

      loss) or

(2) being out of balance or harmony with one's environment;

(3) a patient is often the innocent victim of malevolent forces;

(4) the soul may become separated from the body (loss of soul);

(5) cure requires the participation of the entire family;

(6) the natural world is not always distinguishable from the supernatural;

(7) sickness often serves the social function, through increased attention and rallying of the family around a patient, of reestablishing a sense of belonging (resocialization) and

(8) Latinos respond better to an open interaction with their healer.”

While many Latino-Americans believe in curanderismo as a healing modality, most also value the power of conventional Western medicine, routinely seeking the care of a medical doctor when sick, according to one Los Angeles study. In one particular area of Los Angeles, most Mexican-Americans sought medical treatment for their mental illness, rather than seeking the care of a curandero. Though curanderismo is, and has historically been, an inherent part of Latino culture, it would be incorrect to presume that every Latino embraces the beliefs and practices of curanderismo. Some understand it as folk medicine, which means that they see value in it for certain ailments while they feel other issues may require attention from allopathic professionals.

            In other academic research, curanderismo is postulated to be the reason why Latino-Americans are underrepresented in California’s mental health system, constituting only 3% of the patient population when they constitute more than 10% of the state’s general population. Dr. Maduro hypothesizes that many Latinos often are consoled and taken care of by their local curandero and their family, protective mitigating factors in mental health.
            If health care providers are to maintain their effectiveness, their knowledge of their patient’s cultural milieu is critical in the delivery of care. Understanding a patient's explanatory model of illness enables providers to formulate a culturally appropriate response, and also anticipate, identify and resolve any potential treatment compliance issues before problems arise. For example, if a person believes his mental illness is a result of a curse or spirits, he may choose not take his medication. A person’s explanatory model of his illness affects their health-related behaviors and their willingness to comply with treatment plans. By 2050, the largest ethnic minority in the U.S. will be Latino-Americans with 29% of the population, who currently constitute about 14%.

What do you think about curanderismo?  How you witnessed any spiritual practice?  Please share your thoughts.

Guest Blogger:
Pearl Ji-hyon Park
lightfisharts@gmail.com
Please visit our website: amongourkin.org.
Blog: can-documentary.blogspot.com

The Power of Diversified and Inclusive Businesses

Diversity is a commitment to recognizing and appreciating the variety of characteristics that make individuals unique in an atmosphere that promotes and celebrates individual and collective achievement (The University of Tennessee Libraries Diversity Committee Spring 2001; Revised January 2003).
 

Studies show that future workforce will have significant demographic variations. Companies report competitive advantage as the key driver of diversity efforts. Diverse markets require diverse strategies; organizations must know the markets they seek to serve and reflect the same diversity within.
 

Future workforce will have huge demographic variations:

The inflow of immigrants has been largely responsible for a continuing increase in the racial and ethnic diversity of the workforce. Hispanics and Asians are the fastest-growing racial and ethnic groups in the population and workforce. In the case of Hispanics, a high birth rate is partly responsible for that, but immigration is the main driver (Census 2000). 

In 2000, about 33% of the U.S. population identified themselves as members of racial or ethnic minority groups.  By 2050, it is projected that these groups will account for almost half of the U.S. population. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the United States had almost 38.8 million Blacks or African Americans (12.9% of the U.S. population); more than 45.5 million Hispanics or Latinos (15.1%);  almost 13.4 million Asians (4.4%) (U.S. Census 2000).

In addition, the steadily increasing female labor force participation rates, combined with decreasing male rates, have brought the labor force close to gender balance. The rise in female rates holds for married women and single women alike. It holds as well for women with and without minor children, and, for the latter, it holds whether they are married or not and no matter how old their children are (Department of Labor, USA).

People QuickFacts (Census 2003)                                New Jersey                          USA
Population, 2006 estimate                                             8,724,560                            299,398,484
White persons, percent, 2006 (a)                                      76.4%                                80.1%
Black persons, percent, 2006 (a)                                      14.5%                                12.8%
Asian persons, percent, 2006 (a)                                        7.4%                                  4.4%
Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2006 (b)  15.6%                                14.8%
White persons not Hispanic, percent, 2006                      62.6%                                66.4%
Foreign born persons, percent, 2000                                17.5%                                11.1%

Why Diversity so Important 

Diversity provides a richer variety of approaches to work and problem solving.
Diversity strengthens an organization's resilience in changing environmental conditions.
Diversity allows challenges to long-accepted views.
Diversity creates dynamic work environments through variety of perspectives.
Helps organizations understand how to effectively interact with all of its client base.
Informs organizational practices that create community support in all populations.
Helps manage perceptions of historically underserved markets.
 

Asurvey conducted by SHRM and Fortune, both concluded that diversity:
Improves corporate culture by 83%
Improves employee morale by 70%
Increases creativity by 59%
Decreases interpersonal conflict by 58%

Enables movement into emerging markets by 57%
Improves productivity by 52%
Exceptional performance within groups of medical colleagues representing a wide variety of “values, experiences and disciplines.” (1956)
Mixed gender groups consistently outperformed single-gender groups. Different viewpoints caused inventive solutions to emerge. (1961)
Routine problem solving better handled by homogeneous groups, less-defined problems better suited to heterogeneous groups. (1984)
Diverse ethnic groups produced more effective solutions than homogeneous groups. (1992)
To be successful, your organizational culture must be open to diversity; otherwise this effort will fail.
Managers, supervisors and front line staff need training and education on valuing and managing diversity.
Integrating diversity into an organization’s culture is not easy; the outcomes of a diversified organization are worthwhile all the efforts.
Leadership must value and commit to a long-term vision of diversity.
 

Bottom Line
Diversity can create stronger, more productive organizations.
Innovation is a by-product of diversity.
Innovation is key to vitality in the 21st century.
 

Diversity & Inclusion Part of your Strategic Plan

Diversity and Inclusion, is not just a HR initiative. Organizations looking to become competitive, productive, and innovated must look at Diversity as a quality initiative. Diversity is the new way of business creativity and performance.

THE U.S. POPULATION IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY DIVERSE (U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, 2003). MANY MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO MANAGE THEIR DIVERSE WORKFORCES AS EVIDENCED BY THE PROLIFERATION OF DIVERSITY PROGRAMS BEING IMPLEMENTED IN MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS (WENTLING AND PALMA-RIVAS, 2000).

The Influence of Strategic Diversity…
Recent research suggests that firms that effectively manage their workforce diversity may experience positive outcomes. For example, research indicates that firms with higher percentages of women managers report relatively higher financial performance (Shrader et al., 1997) and greater effectiveness (Richard and Johnson, 2001). Recognizing these evolving workplace trends, numerous scholars have addressed issues related to diversity in organizations (e.g., Carter, 2000; Cox, 2001).

Diversity & Inclusion Part of your Strategic Plan Synergetic Model

ORGANIZATION

Executive Management
 

Middle Management
 

Managers/Supervisors
 

Front Line Staff
 

Clients/Businesses

What is Next…
Executive support for diversity initiatives
Tactics to smooth the transition to a more diverse work culture
Provide education programs from top to bottom
Create and maintain a consistent pro-diversity message
Form a diversity council that looks at large-scale organizational issues

"You can and should shape your own future; because if you don't someone else surely will."
"No one will thank you for taking care of the present if you have neglected the future."

-Joel Barker

"Innovation provides the seeds for economic growth, and for that innovation to happen depends as much on collective difference as on aggregate ability. If people think alike then no matter how smart they are they most likely will get stuck at the same locally optimal solutions. Finding new and better solutions, innovating, requires thinking differently. That’s why diversity powers innovation. “

-Scott E. Page, Professor, University of Michigan

For more information contact Helen Dao at helen@daoconsultingservices.com

Diversity, Inclusion, Cultural Competence and Linguistic Competence, What Do They Mean?

For decades we have heard the concept "Diversity". In today's businesses, diversity has a much different meaning then before.  Another concept that is taking a strong force is Cultural Competence. There is a clear difference between Diversity and Cultural Competence, however, they are used interchangeably.  Diversity is the distinction of race, ethnicity, nationality, culture, religion, age.  Cultural Competence is a working definition, there are an array to choose from, cultural competence is the set of values, traditions, beliefs, and systems that group of people share.

Another definition that is very important to know and understand is linguistic competence.  The definition of cultural competence by the National Center of Cultural Competence is the ability of an organization and its personnel to understand and convey information that is easily understood by individuals, including Limited English Proficiency. Now let's go back to Diversity and Inclusion at the Workplace.  There cannot be diversity and inclusion without cultural and linguistic competence at the workplace.  Businesses and organizations must pay attention to the cultural differences  among their employees and how it affects management and staff communication as well peer interaction.

Let's look at the following situation.  HR hires a Chinese community educator to train the Chinese community on a specific health condition.  Management ask the educator to develop an educational curriculum for the trainings.  The educator is asked to implement the curriculum in a bilingual format.  The educator asked management in what Chinese dialect should he deliver the training?  Management response is, well you are Chinese, don't you speak Chinese?  The educator responds yes, but I only speak Cantones.  Management finds out that the Chinese community center's patients, the majority speaks Mandarin, two different dialects.

The lesson learned: Businesses and organizations should not make assumptions about their employees' culture and language base on their race or ethnicity.  Therefore, we must move beyond diversity and inclusion, cultural and linguistic competence knowledge is a requirement to do and stay in business.

For more information contact Helen Dao at helen@daoconsultingservices.com.

Diversity & Inclusion at the Workplace

Dear Reader,

So we start our Blogging Campaign at DAO!  Here is our first short article on The Power of Diversified Businesses.

The Power of Diversified Businesses

Diversity is a commitment to recognizing and appreciating the variety of characteristics that make individuals unique in an atmosphere that promotes and celebrates individual and collective achievement (The University of Tennessee Libraries Diversity Committee Spring 2001; Revised January 2003).

Studies show that future workforce will have significant demographic variations. Companies report competitive advantage as the key driver of diversity efforts.  Diverse markets require diverse strategies; organizations must know the markets they seek to serve and reflect the same diversity within.

To read the full article visit my website at www.daoconsultingservices.com and look under "News"

This week, we will have our first guest blogger,  Wendy Oliveras, Founder & CEO of Oliveras & Company, Inc.  She is also a columnist, author, search consultant, and career planning and development advisor. Look for her article on Benefits to Going Bilingual!

We are taking a different approach at DAO

Dear Reader,

At Dao, we are getting ready to start a Theme Blog Campaign for the rest of 2011!!!

May, we will focus on Diversity & Inclusion at the Workplace (These topics will be health care, social and human services workforce related).

June, we will be providing the latest on revolution of cultural and linguistic competence trends, how changes take place, and how affect the care of minority groups in America.

July, Public Health Practice, based on true community stories.

August, Cultural Broker/Cultural Health Broker (partnering with health care providers in the behavioral change/modification of resistance to treatment).

We will have special guest writers through out the year!

Soon, we will be announcing the themes for September, November, and December!

Helen Dao