Journal of Palliative Care & Medicine
Open Access

Abstract

The purpose of this presentation is to explore the influence of culture on the pain experience. Evidence-based culturally congruent best practices in pain management for diverse groups will be discussed. Emic and etic attitudes toward pain, expressions of pain, pain assessment, pain management, pain responses (stoic and emotive), use of complementary/alternative practices, use of indigenous/traditional therapies, and bio-cultural variations among cultural groups will be examined. Implications for practice and education will be explored. Pain is a universal human experience. Individual beliefs about pain are guided by ethnicity, culture, age, gender, emotional factors, family/interpersonal relationships, and spirituality/religious heritage. Evidence supports that clients of ethnic minorities and racially and linguistically discordant client-provider relationships receive inadequate pain management and report decreased satisfaction with pain management. Therefore, it is a clinical imperative that healthcare practitioners integrate culturally congruent approaches to pain assessment and management into practice. Healthcare teams are charged with providing culturally competent care, designing client- and family-centered care models, enhancing client engagement, minimizing health disparities, and delivering safe care. Thus, healthcare teams provide care to diverse clients experiencing pain in a variety of settings and across the life span. Recognizing and acknowledging differences in cultural beliefs regarding the pain experience (clients and providers alike) is intended to minimize cultural imposition - the tendency of a person or group to impose their values and patterns of behavior onto others - thereby leading to the delivery of culturally congruent care – care that is meaningful, beneficial, satisfying, and fits with the client’s values and beliefs.

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