About this topic

Welcome to the Alejandro Flores Case Study. This lesson will present concepts and issues related to normative cultural values and complementary and alternative medicine(CAM) as they affect medical decision-making in a Latino family. Several folk health and illness beliefs that can affect the health care experience will be examined.

The centerpiece for this lesson is a case study involving a 4 year-old Puerto-Rican boy named Alejandro who has frequent exacerbations of his asthma. This case highlights the importance of health care providers being informed about the cultural values that influence a particular family’s illness experience. It explores the reasons for and the impact of a family’s decision to pursue complementary and alternative medicine.

What you will learn

After you complete this lesson you will be able to do the following:

• Identify specific cultural values, common to the Latino culture, that are affecting the response of Alejandro’s family to his health care providers.
• Discuss potential factors involved in a family’s choice to pursue complementary and alternative medicine.
• Develop culturally appropriate interventions that may be effective in improving Alejandro’s medical status.

Getting the most from this lesson

To learn the most from this lesson we recommend that you approach it in the following way:

• Go through the lesson by using the side bar links. Proceed through the side bar items from top to bottom. Take the quiz last.
• It would be a good idea to refer back to the Core Concepts in Cultural Competence” introductory lesson on cultural competency when needed as you proceed through this lesson. This can be accessed by returning to the home page and selecting the Core Concepts in Cultural Competence lesson.