Globalization and Healthcare
Any examination of the role that intercultural communication plays in the health-
care context cannot be limited to doctor–patient interactions. The topic is much
more comprehensive and calls for an appreciation of just how prevalent cultural
diversity is in both international and domestic healthcare. From the global perspec-
tive, recall the many natural disaster relief efforts that have taken place over the
past several years, such as the Haiti earthquake (2010), the Japanese earthquake
and tsunami (2011), the Philippines typhoon (2013), and the Nepal earthquake
(2015). In each instance, medical relief teams were quickly dispatched by a host of
different nations.
Humanitarian relief operations to relieve suffering resulting from armed conflicts,
disease outbreaks, refugee displacement, and other crises are also areas where multi-
cultural medical aid teams are on duty. Both government and nongovernment
agencies staff these operations. Doctors Without Borders alone maintains operations
in seventy nations,^44 and at every location, the healthcare providers must manage
cultural differences in language and healthcare treatment beliefs along with varied
value systems. The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa saw personnel from around
the world working to coordinate logistics, administer care, institute prevention pro-
grams, and help with recovery operations, including body disposal and bereavement
counseling.
The diversity of the population of the United States is also mirrored in the health-
care system. Today, it is not uncommon to encounter a doctor, nurse, office staff, hos-
pice worker, pharmacist, physical therapist, dentist, hospital attendant, dental
technician, psychologist, lab technician, etc. with a cultural background different
from your own. According to a Migration Policy Institute report,
In 2010, the foreign born accounted for 16 percent of all civilians employed in health
care occupations in the United States. In some health care professions, this share was larger.
More than one-quarter of physicians and surgeons (27 percent) were foreign born, as were
more than one out of every five (22 percent) persons working in health care support jobs as
nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides.^45
In 2012, doctors who had graduated from international medical schools represented
over 35 percent of the total physician workforce in both New York and New Jersey.
This situation is not unique to the United States. England’s National Health Service
relies on workers from over 200 countries, with foreign nationals accounting for
14 percent of the clinical staff and 25 percent of the physicians.^46Intercultural Communication in Healthcare
The preceding discussion makes it clear that whether you have a career in healthcare,
or interact with a member of that profession, cultural differences will influence that
experience. Of course, culturally sensitive, competent healthcare delivery is directly
dependent on clear, unambiguous communication among all involved individuals. If
communication between healthcare providers and patients is not mutually under-
standable, the entire medical treatment process is hindered. The challenge of effective
communication is even greater when the participants are of diverse cultural366 CHAPTER 10• Intercultural Communication in Contexts
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