Chapter 2 Key Points: Demographics, National Standards, and Heritage

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from Chapter 2 on demographics, cultural competence, and health-care assessment (including CLAS standards, linguistic competence, culture, race/ethnicity, health beliefs, and the FICA spiritual history tool).

Determinants of health

Personal, social, economic, and environmental factors that influence an individual’s health status.

National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health Care

Blueprint to improve quality of care and eliminate health disparities for culturally diverse populations.

Linguistic competence

Ability of health care institutions and providers to communicate effectively with patients who have limited English proficiency, often through interpreters.

Culture

Attitudes, beliefs, self-definitions, norms, roles, and values that can be communicated verbally and nonverbally.

Socialization (enculturation)

Process of being raised within a culture and acquiring its characteristics.

Four characteristics of culture

Learned from birth through language and socialization; shared by members of a cultural group; adapted to environment and resources; dynamic and ever-changing.

Race

A self-identification concept referring to a group of people who share similar physical characteristics.

Ethnicity

Membership in a social group with a common geographic origin, migratory status, religion, race, language, shared values, traditions or symbols, and food preferences.

Religion

Organized system of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, with attendance of regular services.

Spirituality

Broad sense of connection to something larger than oneself and a belief in transcendence.

Biomedical model of illness

Illness understood and treated through scientific, biomedical explanations.

Naturalistic (holistic) health beliefs

Illness explained by natural forces or imbalances; emphasis on harmony with nature and the whole person.

Magicoreligious beliefs

Illness attributed to supernatural forces or occult causes, often with reliance on spiritual or magical remedies.

Traditional healers

Popular or lay healers outside the biomedical system; may include folk or religious healers.

Cultural assessment

Systematic evaluation of a patient’s culture, often covering heritage, health practices, communication, family roles, nutrition, pregnancy/birth, spirituality, death, and the patient–provider relationship.

FICA Spiritual History Tool

A framework to explore spirituality: Faith, Importance/Influence, Community, and Address/Action.

FICA stands for

Faith, Importance/Influence, Community, and Address/Action.

FICA as a dialogue tool

Encourages open conversation about spirituality and beliefs and is not a fixed checklist of questions.