Nursing Commons^™

Cultural Diversity: Pain Beliefs And Treatment Among Mexican-Americans, African-Americans, Chinese-Americans And Japanese-Americans, Anthony J. Alvarado

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

The purpose of this project was to examine culture and the impact it has on the pain experience. Pain, albeit acute or chronic, is an important subject to understand because it can have detrimental effects on the body if not properly managed. Culture has been found to be a factor that influences one’s pain experience and thus the need for healthcare professionals to acknowledge this is imperative. The cultures examined in this paper include: Mexican- Americans, African-Americans, Chinese-Americans and Japanese-Americans. Within these four cultural groups their beliefs about the origin of pain, physical responses to pain, health and illness beliefs …