Sue Stout, lobbyist for MNA, explained how two years ago the Office of Minority Health and the Urban Coalition did a study on health issues in the minority communities. The MN Health Care Consumer Protection Alliance reviewed the report which contained a lot of data that showed we were not doing well. A major problem is that the health care profession is predominantly white. There are several problems that need to be addressed if we are to improve the situation. We must understand and be sensitive to cultural differences.
Many cultures often have very different ways of looking at health care.
The result is that people of other cultures don't understand what they are being told, or they approach medication differently, or they don't understand the instructions and consequently don't go back. It is a real barrier when there is little or no communication and sometimes a real fear of the providers. Some immigrant communities actually believe that the clinics kill children. The MN Center for Cross Cultural Health and the Health Care Consumer Protection Alliance are in the process of developing a legislative package for next session. Sue says the legislation will be very complicated and may have to be separated into a number of smaller bills.