"The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the difficulties that can be experienced when a patient and medical professional do not understand each other's culture or language. The paper focuses on "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" by Anne Fadiman, which is the tragedy about three-month-old Lia Lee, from Laos, who unfortunately was one of these cultural misunderstandings.

From the Paper:

"Several stories in the report (Wilson-Stronks & Galvez, 2005) highlight inadequate informed consent. A Muslim man refused chemotherapy treatment for stomach cancer, because he believed the only way to receive chemotherapy was to be attached to "a pump" that would interfere with his praying. The physician did not understand that his aversion to chemotherapy had to prayer, and treatment was delayed for precious months. Other stories stress cultural misunderstandings: The son of a 72-year-old Italian woman who had a CT scan consistent with metastatic colon cancer asks the surgeon to not tell her the diagnosis because it will "kill her." A 64-year-old African-American has angina, but is reluctant to go for a cardiac catheterization. He mistrusts the healthcare system due to a poor experience with a family member and memories of the invasive procedures done as part of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Such concerns are indicative of what took place in Spirit in 1982. How far have medical centers gone, or not gone, in these past three decades?"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Gladwell, M. (2002). The tipping point: How little things can make a big difference. Boston: Little Brown
• Hasnain-Wynia, R., and Pierce, D. (2007). Practicing Evidence-Based and Culturally Competent Medicine: Is it Possible? Virtual Mentor 9:572-578.
• HRSA Cultural Competence (2005). Website retrieved September 30, 2007. http://www.hrsa.gov/culturalcompetence/
• Metzl, J., and Poirier, S. (2004) Editors' Preface: Difference and Identity in Medicine Literature and Medicine 23(1) vi-xii
• Wilson-Stronks, A., and Galvez, E. (2007) Exploring Cultural and Linguistic Services in the Nation's Hospitals A Report of Findings Hospitals, Language, and Culture: A Snapshot of the Nation. Joint Commission. Website retrieved September 30, 2005. http://www.yvcc.edu/coe/pdf/hlc_paper.pdf

More papers on "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down":

• Book Review # 122917 : "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down"- A Book Review"
• Book Review # 121934 : "Cross-Cultural Conflict in "The Spirit Catches You"
• Analytical Essay # 62616 : "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: