Caring for the Low German Mennonites : How Religious Beliefs and Practices Influence Health Care

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What happens when health care providers meet patients whose religious views contrast with mainstream health practices? Caring for the Low German Mennonites focuses on a unique religious group to examine the ways in which beliefs and practices influence members’ interactions with the health care system.

Drawing on nearly twenty years of research, Judith Kulig elucidates a process for acknowledging and respectfully inquiring about a patient’s beliefs, and taking them into account in the planning of care and implementation of treatment.

This book includes:

• an overview of what “cultural competence” means and how it can help health care practitioners provide effective care for their patients
• a meticulous account of the influence of religion on the Low German Mennonites’ conceptions of health and illness, women’s health, death and dying, and mental health
• consideration of the overlaps and differences between the norms of the Low German Mennonite community and those of the health care system.

Caring for the Low German Mennonites serves as a rich and detailed example of working respectfully and effectively with a minority religious group. Kulig shows that trust and understanding are key to providing appropriate and equitable health care.