Caring for the Low German Mennonites

Book excerpt: 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.