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Cultural Diversity - Introduction

We are living in an era of rapid social and technological change. These changes are taking place at different rates across the globe. The pace of change in some countries has accelerated with economic growth and development. As for the advances in science and technology, these are making it possible for us to live our lives in ways we want to, they influence where we live, and affect everything that is associated with living in urban as well as rural environments.

In Britain today, we live side by side with people from different ethnic, cultural, social, and religious backgrounds. We are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that we live in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society. Depending upon where we live, work, or which services we access in the community, we have probably seen changes to our communities over a period of time. We are increasingly aware of the differences and similarities among ourselves, and others, in relation to age, gender, ethnicity, culture, religious beliefs and practices, social and economic status, educational and occupational backgrounds, disability, sexual orientation, health, and the impact of illness.

In everyday life, we may find our long held ideas about ourselves as well as others challenged when we encounter people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Our levels of understanding about other cultures may vary. In some instances our observations may be superficial and our knowledge less developed, based on media representations or limited encounters with people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. In other cases, it may be that through personal and professional contact we have been able to establish over time an understanding of others from diverse backgrounds. In modern urban environments, it is likely that cultural diversity is an obvious reality for all of us, yet we must acknowledge our level of awareness and sensitivity, or lack of it, in order to demonstrate our respect for others.

Valuing diversity is an essential aspect of living and working in a multicultural society. As professionals in health and social care, we need to become aware of the cultural influences on health, health behaviours, and illness and recovery, and translate that awareness into culturally congruent care practice. We need to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudinal responses to meet the health needs of the people in the communities we serve with respect, sensitivity and the competence required.

This section focuses on issues relating to cultural diversity, including the demography and the breakdown of populations by ethnicity, social and cultural factors that influence everyday life of people from diverse backgrounds.

Many words used in everyday life are social constructs; put another way, they are representations of the social reality, as we perceive it, and given expression through the use of language. Language becomes critical to the ways in which we use words in their sociological and political context. The meanings and usage of terms defined in this section have been contested, some more than others. The critical analysis of terms used can be pursued in detail in the relevant referred source.

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