+ TEAM 9 Anh Tran, Amy Le, Angel Lim Arad Goudarzi, Talia Tabaroki David Nhan, Ashna Patel

+ Scenario You are a 28-year-old African-American female pharmacist. A 45-year-old Japanese-American male is looking at over-the-counter remedies and asks you indirect questions suggesting that he might have an STD. You become concerned about what he is describing, and think he should be referred to a physician.

+ Potential cultural barriers Pharmacist is an African American female in her late 20s Patient is a Japanese-American male in his mid 40s Age, gender, and language

+ Body language Patient may nod and agree with the pharmacist, but only out of respect Pharmacist must stress the importance of compliance and medical referrals The patient may avoid eye contact out of respect Send wrong message to pharmacist Patient may refuse medical advices initially to be polite

+ “4” problems The words for "four" and "death" are pronounced similarly Patient will be reluctant to take medications at 4pm or 4 times a day

+ Potential religious barriers African Americans believe in prayer Will allow a clergy to intervene in their health care when appropriate Healthcare practitioners may offer to pray with patients It is common for Japanese people to rely on herbal medications

+ Gender and/or age related issues Asian cultures show great respect to the elders Asian patient may come off as superior than the pharmacist due to his older age To African Americans, it is the father or elderly figure that are usually the spokespersons of the family. This would mean that she might be embarrassed to discuss a sensitive issue with him, such as an STD

+ Gender and/or age related issues There may be strong gender taboos regarding touch and space. A Japanese woman may reach out to a female pharmacist, but shy away from her male colleague. The patient might shy away from the pharmacist who is a female. Pharmacist wouldn’t be able to get the full details from the patient and recommend the right product to them.

+ How could the pharmacist best approach this situation? Learn about cultural competence Gain insight about their own cultural biases in order to be aware of what their patients may think of them Know specific verbal and non verbal communication techniques this may allow the pharmacist to better understand the patient’s needs and expectations. Be aware of the cultural beliefs and ideas of the population they are serving to minimize the disparity between the pharmacist and her patients and maximize the quality of patient care

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+ Reference Cultural Diversity in Healthcare, Geri-Ann Galanti, PhD Cultural Self-Assessment for Pharmacist Book Chapter by Halbur & Halbur can be found at: uralCompetence_sample.pdf uralCompetence_sample.pdf AACP - Cultural Diversity CompetenceandDiversity.aspx CompetenceandDiversity.aspx Zweber, A. (2002) Cultural Competence in Pharmacy Practice. Article can be found at: