Activity
Which of the following statements do you most strongly identify with?
Collectivism
I talk about my relationship with others,
but not about me.
I prefer spending time with my other
people.
Sharing is a natural way of life. Things
don’t belong to me they belong to the
family/community for all to share and
enjoy.
Consensus rules in decision-making.
I can leave, but I will always maintain my
connections with country and
community.
My obligations to my family and social
relationships are very important and
non- negotiable.
Individualism
I talk about myself, my professional
status, and my achievements.
I enjoy time on my own.
What’s mine is mine and I will choose
with whom I will share.
The majority rules in decision-making.
I can move on if I don’t like it here.
I have few obligations and many of these
can be negotiated.
Concepts of time
The following table contains statements that relate to Non-Western and Western
concepts of time. Which of the following statements do you most strongly identify with?
Non-Western
Western
I view time as a cycle of life and events
that is not measurable.
I view time as an ordered sequence of
events of the past, present and future.
Time is not tangible.
Time is tangible. It can be wasted, saved,
spent, lost, made-up, measured, bought,
and sold.
I value time and feel comfortable with
scheduling my priorities.
I don’t feel comfortable with fixed
schedules as my priorities are guided by
my obligation; schedules don’t dictate
the order of the day.
Past events remain part of the here and
now.
The past is the past and is part of history.
Activity
Application to practice
4.3 Read: Individualism v collectivism (page 4)
This offers an example of how an appreciation of one of the cultural dimensions individualism v collectivism can serve as a foundation for providing interprofessional
culturally sensitive care. Make some notes on this section and then answer the
following question.
What do you think would be the outcome if Western-trained health practitioners
imposed ‘their’ worldviews through individualism onto a person/patient who comes
from a collectivistic culture?
When Western-trained health practitioners during communication impose western
ideals of individualism upon individuals from collectivist culture, they are at risk of
making their patient feel misunderstood or uncomfortable. Within the healthcare
system, it is important for a patient to feel safe, understood, and cared for, lack of
communication that takes into account the background and ideals of a patient may also
cause provision of treatment to be ineffective due to poor understanding of
collectivism.