Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association

Working with People from Different
Cultures & with Different Beliefs

Hospice staffs’ primary goal is to help people have the best possible end-of-life experience. One of the challenges is that all people are different. Some have many resources and others have few-to-none; some have families that come together to assist, while others have families that split apart. There are also patients and families from different cultures or who have different belief systems than team members. Yet everyone must receive the best we have to offer. To do this, we must ensure the care provided is culturally and religiously sensitive. This webinar will address the perspectives and skills needed to remain sensitive when serving people from other cultures and religions.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Values clarification exercise to gain insight into our thoughts and feelings about people with different cultures/beliefs
• Cultural sensitivity – the many aspects of the human condition that all hospice workers want to understand
• Several caution areas where we might unknowingly respond or act in ways others find hurtful or offensive
• Specific ways to respond and/or intervene when people of different faiths or beliefs say things like: “Will you pray with me?”, “Where do you think I will go when I die?”, or “In my religion we believe that God wants me to have this pain to cleanse me of my sins. That’s why I do not take pain medications.”

When People
Want to Talk About Dying

We often talk about how ever-shortening lengths of stay make it difficult to provide the best of what hospice offers. Enter the volunteer! Especially when time is short, we should ensure volunteers are prepared to respond when patients or families want to have those difficult conversations. Am I dying? Why is this happening to me? I am afraid to die.

It’s not really about having the correct answer, but more about ensuring that when a conversation door opens that it is not slammed shut due to lack of skill or preparation. This webinar will provide background information, skills, and suggested interventions so volunteers feel better prepared when people want to talk about dying.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Ensuring that we are prepared to walk through conversation doors when people open them
• Why talking directly about dying can be difficult for the patient, family, and volunteer
• Being helpful to people who cannot speak
• Ways to invite people to talk about potentially frightening topics
• Specific ways of responding when faced with unsettling questions or topics