I read the BMJs REVIEW of whats in the Papers over a coffee and a Health
Free Doughnut most mornings.
I just though this was relevant to circulate.
Organ donor shortage among Asian community
Source: The Guardian
Date: 11 March 2003
A brief article in 'Medical Notes' reports that the Department of Health is
urging more Asian people to carry organ donor cards. People of Asian origin
are three times as likely to develop conditions that lead to kidney failure,
and the chances of a successful transplant are greatly increased if both the
donor and recipient are from the same ethnic group. However, there is a
shortage of Asian people on the organ donor register. The Muslim Law Council
has said that it is acceptable to donate and accept transplants. Other major
Asian religions such as Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism support the
individual's right to choose.
Patrick
Dr. P. McDaid
The Village Practice
Isledon Road Medical Centre
115 Isledon Road
London N7 7JJ
-----Original Message-----
From: Y.Gunaratnam [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 30 January 2003 14:33
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Discussion point...
This is a really important discussion and it is also very complicated.
In relation to the cultural awareness training first, and I speak as a
trainer and educator who is often asked to do this sort of training. I can
sympathise with managers and practitioners who go down this route. However,
I do think it is quite limited. It is an overwhelmingly rationalist approach
to inter-cultural care and practice - if we can become knowledgeable about
the cultures of different groups then we can become culturally competent.
What I have found from my ethographic research (lots of time spent watching
care interactions) is that this rationalist approach to care is a world away
from the highly emotional and 'messy' work of inter-cultural encounters on
the ground. It is not just that the cultural awareness models assume 'pure'
ethnic and cultural identities, it is also that we absolutely fail to
address a whole range of issues such as how fear and anxiety amongst
practitioners can get projected onto minoritized individuals and groups and
so affect care, how experiences of racist and gendered violence can be
'remembered' by bodies and therefore can affect the 'tiny' detail of service
interactions such as those related to touch, lifting, washing, and how lived
experiences of ethnicity are not only changing, but also highly
contradictory. At a very basic level we desperately need a change in the
discourse of cultural 'competence' that implies the rational mastery of
knowledge. Perhaps learning from other fields we need to think in terms of
'capability'.
What I have found in terms of my own experiences of training health care
professionals is that they are really open to engaging with a wide range of
theory on this issue ( I draw upon postcolonial, feminist and psychoanalytic
theory in my work). They find it empowering because it actually addresses
some of the complicated situations that they work in and it recognises how
unconscious emotional dynamics, as well as wider social processes are an
integral part of care.
Second, on the point of challenging oppression. Again I don't think this is
simple. There is a huge difference between the important work that has been
done by black feminists/activists around 'forced marriages' and infibulation
and the way David Blunkett has used these as issues to attack and
pathologise black men and particular racialised groups. I was literally
stunned when he raised these issues in relation to the Cantle report on the
'disturbances' in Bradford, Oldham and Burnley, thereby also racialising
the second and third generation Asian young men in Yorkshire as somehow not
British. So my point is context is everything and we really have to engage
with the very different ways in which oppression work and how it positions
people in different ways.
I'd better stop there!
Yasmin Gunaratnam
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kashefi, Elham [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 30 January 2003 12:08
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Discussion point...
>
> It seems quite simple to me - there's no mystery to it really. If you feel
> strongly about the injustices of certain practices and feel compelled to
> act, then you do it with integrity and sensitivity, whether you're of that
> community or not. Being white and middle class and male of course has
> power implications and you ought to be aware of them, but it shouldn't
> stop you working towards increased social justice for those in your
> community. And yes, your community. We are all here together.
>
> I think it's important not to think of minority ethnic people as 'a
> community' with a coherent set of values and cultural mores. You don't
> hear people talk of the white community all the time do you? 'The Bengali
> community' may have some shared cultural values but they are all also
> individuals - some of whom will think the same way as you. 'Community' is
> a complex phrase with many contradictions and rest assured, where there's
> injustice, there'll be those fighting it. It may not be visible to you as
> an outsider, but they'll be there.
>
> What you can do is to make your organisation and its work relevant to
> people's lives and increase their trust in you as an individual and as an
> organisation. You have to be honest, transparent and responsive. Once
> people trust you then you can be their ally, and support them (financially
> or otherwise) if they want you to. They may just want your money and not
> your presence. They may want you involved in other ways. You have to
> respect that. You work to the same principles as any good community
> development work. Like I say, there's no mystery to it.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jones Benjamin
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 30 January 2003 11:29
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: FW: Discussion point...
>
>
>
> Morning everyone
>
> hope that you are all well and in the mood for a spirited
> discussion.
>
> I emailed a Culutral Compentency training pack to the list this
> morning and received comments back from kevin Sheridan and a very
> intesresting Question. the Question was
>
> "How do we confront discriminatory practices within certain ethnic
> groups (sexism, infibulation etc)?"
>
> My discussion with kevin is copied below but what are your thoughts?
>
> b e n
> ( and i remember the guide dogs discussion, i expect sparks!)
>
>
>
>
> Ben Jones
> Public Health Facilitator (B&ME Groups)
> Central Liverpool Primary Care Trust
> 0151 285 2148
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kevin Sheridan [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 30 January 2003 10:44
> To: Jones Benjamin
> Subject: Re: Cultural Awareness Training
>
> [Benjamin Jones]
>
>
> hey kevin, thanks for the comments
>
> Mine are below in red
>
>
> Thanks for a look at this ppt. Looks very interesting and
> considered. Only trouble with someone else's ppts is that you only get
> headlines - no details or notes. Are there any notes with this? Also
> interested in how you went about profiling communities? What do you think
> is important to find out/emphasise when profiling?
> [Benjamin Jones]
> Yes, i understand, there are no ntoes, more a fly by seat of
> pants approach, if there is a demand i can put notes together but would be
> time consuming. The profiling takes place through our famous (:>)) patient
> profiling initiative (details attached) so the dat displayed is taken from
> the rpatice system the day ebfore the trining so as to be the best most up
> to date.
>
>
> Other points (not to do with presentation):
> On Bangladeshis - We found that a high proportion of
> Bangladeshis in our study area (Paddington) didn't speak Bengali but
> Sylheti - a dialect with no written form which had implications for
> outreach (no use using leaflets as high levels of illiteracy).
>
> [Benjamin Jones]
> Thanks will add to bengali page of ppt
>
>
> On same sex issues amongst Muslims: - we have argued that
> despite our desire to see greater equality between the sexes, in order to
> deal with certain Muslim groups problems/issues/ needs one must start from
> where they are not where one thinks they should be. In order to do this
> one must understand these cultural positions. On the other hand, one could
> say that we live generally in a "progressive" society. One hundred years
> ago, women were more segregated here, less educated, in worst employment
> conditions, and outside positions of power that affected their everyday
> lives. Some would argue that that still is the case. How do we confront
> discriminatory practices within certain etnic groups (sexism, infibulation
> etc)?
> [Benjamin Jones]
> whwere they are, not where we think they should be - very
> well said. progressive yes, however, my feeling is that many communities
> beome more stringent living in the UK than when "at home". For instance
> the yemeni communtiy in Liverpool is reportee by visiting observers from
> Yemen to be more Yemeni than in San'a.
>
> A few other issues spring to mind, infibulation, preceived
> dominacne of Men in Islam and the use of Qat. It is my opinion that these
> issues are seized on by white middle class professionals as easily defined
> and easily dealt with issues. However, i feel that these are smokescreen
> issues which are picked up because they are interesting/different to the
> norm. In Liverpool we have a perceived issue with qat. The yemeni
> community are prodigious consumers of Qat, hwoever, there appear to be no
> social problems with Qat amongst this community. On the other hand, tyhe
> somali community, likewise qat chewers repot many problems with qat abuse.
> The difference between the two communties is high employment in the
> Yemenis, high unemployment in the Somalis. But continualy professioanls
> seize on the Qat isue and ignore housing, employment etc.
>
> A second sore point for me, and one i have never seen
> addresses adequatley ooutside Liverpool is perceptions of Islam by the
> general populace. teh training slides indiaxcte the basics of islam (5
> pillars role of teh Qur'an etc but i also give a historic/political
> contaxt to islam. This helps people to understand the issues much more
> clearly.
>
>
> b e n
> (White middle class professional)
>
> Best
> Kevin Sheridan
>
>
>
> At 09:41 30/01/03 +0000, you wrote:
>
>
> "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w =
> "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1 =
> "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags">
>
>
> ----------
>
> From: Jones
> Benjamin[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2003 9:41:23 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Cultural Awareness Training
> Auto forwarded by a Rule
>
>
> this is the one we use in Liverpool, personlised by
> practice
>
> would appreciate your feedback
>
> The list had a lot of input into this a few months
> ago
>
> b e n
>
> Ben Jones
> Public Health Facilitator (B&ME Groups)
> Central Liverpool Primary Care Trust
> 0151 285 2148
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jenifer Chapman
> [<mailto:[log in to unmask]>]
> Sent: 30 January 2003 09:29
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Cultural Awareness Training
>
>
>
> Does anyone know of a great cultural awareness
> training course?
>
> Many thanks
>
> Best wishes
>
> Jenifer
>
> Jenifer Chapman
> Research Officer (Health Services Research Unit)
> Department of General Practice & Primary Care
> Barts & The London
> Queen Mary's School of Medicine & Dentistry
> Medical Sciences Building
> Mile End Road
> London E1 4NS
>
> 020-7882-7980
> [log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
> Health Services Research Unit website
> <http://www.mds.qmul.ac.uk/gp/hsr/index.htm>
>
>
>
> Kevin Sheridan,
> Community Development Fellow,
> Social Science and Medicine,
> Imperial College Faculty of Medicine,
> Charing Cross campus,
> 3rd Floor, Reynolds Building,
> St Dunstan's Road, London W6 8RP
> My Telephone: 020 8374 3845
> My FAX: 0703 1151127
> General Departmental Number : 020 7594 0811
> <http://www.med.ic.ac.uk/divisions/64/index.asp>
>
>
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