ABSTRACT
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 855 Basic Cultural Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 857 Different Cultural Meanings in Health Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 858 Death and Dying. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 859 Pain Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 859 Truth Telling and Informed Consent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 860 Grief, Bereavement, and Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 861 Communication and Decision Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 861 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 862 References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 863 Other Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 863
Books and Articles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 863 Websites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 864 Journals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 864 Videos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 864
Culture plays a very significant role in our lives and has a great impact on our socialization. This is particularly true for children. The culture in which children grow up determines how they will behave and what values and beliefs they will acquire. It influences all aspects of life including the meaning of health, illness, and death. Consideration of the ethnic and cultural background of the patient and family is critically important in assessing needs and planning care and becomes even more significant when the patient is experiencing life-threatening or terminal illness or when the patient is a child.
