Cross-Cultural Health Perspectives Case Study

Cross-Cultural Health Perspectives Case Study
Name
Institution
Cross-Cultural Health Perspectives Case Study
Culturally speaking, it is not unusual that Grandmother Marietta is the primary caregiver for Lanesha Johnson. Coming from an African-American family, Grandmother Marietta is a victim of the social and cultural factors that affect low-income and dysfunctional families. Marietta’s family is evidently dysfunctional because she is raising two kids who were abandoned by their mother, and is also taking care of her own aging mother. The absence of a father or mother figure in this family is characteristic of majority of African-American families, in which 12 percent of the children are raised by their grandparents (Horky, 2014). At the same time, African-American families tend to lead a communal whereby family responsibilities, such as taking care of children, are shared. Even in normal functioning families, children may continue to stay in the same household with their parents after marriage. The parents take care of their children’s kids, while the children work and provide for the whole family. In Marietta’s case, however, the situation could be as a result of negligence of parental responsibilities by Lanesha’s parents, perhaps due to financial problems, incarceration, or substance abuse. Given that over 70% of African-American families earn less than $20, 000 per year and 35% earn less than $10, 000 (Horky, 2014), it is common for parents to neglect their parental responsibilities as is the case in Lanesha’s situation. Considering further that substance abuse and rate of incarceration tend to be higher among Blacks, it is not surprising in this case that Lanesha finds herself in the care of her grandmother.
The three parties in this case, Lanesha, her grandmother, and Hannah Healthcare approach the situation from different perspectives, largely due to lack of proper communication and em...