About this topic

Welcome to Rivka Cohen Case Study.  This lesson will present concepts and issues related to cultural and religious factors as they affect medical decision-making and disease management.

This lesson highlights the importance for providers to be aware of major role that religion and spirituality may have in a patient’s or family’s response to health and illness. The impact of some religious beliefs is well known such as the refusal of blood products by members Jehovah’s Witness. Others, such as the number and type of genetic illnesses in the more isolated Amish population may not be so well known.

Religious beliefs can impact a person’s health care practices in a variety of ways and may not be congruent with the scientific medical model. The centerpiece for this lesson is a case study involving a six-year-old Hasidic Jewish girl with cystic fibrosis named Rivka Cohen who is starting school in the fall. This case study and the following learning activities will allow you as a practitioner to apply these factors to a real life situation and show you how to assess a person’s religious beliefs and integrate them into their medical care.

What you will learn

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

• Identify cultural and religious values and how they may affect patients’ perception of healthcare providers and disease management.
• Discuss how cultural and religious beliefs may influence Hasidic Jewish patients’ desire to hide or conceal medical information.
• Develop culturally/religiously appropriate interventions that may be effective in improving medical care for patients.

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.