Cultural Beliefs and Asthma Care: A Puerto Rican Case Study
This case study examines the intersection of culture and healthcare through the story of a first-generation American child of Puerto Rican descent who suffers from severe asthma. When conventional prescription medications fail to control his symptoms, his grandmother recommends consulting an espiritista — a traditional spiritual healer — leading the family to abandon pharmaceutical treatment in favor of herbal teas and prayer. The paper analyzes the contrasting perspectives of the family, the grandmother, and the clinic physicians, explores why the mother turned to traditional healing rather than returning to the clinic, and identifies the normative cultural values that shape the family's open-minded approach to integrating both Western and traditional Puerto Rican medicine.
- Introduction: Straddling Two Worlds: Background on the child's bilingual, bicultural family context
- Conflicting Perspectives on Treatment: Family, grandmother, and clinic doctors' differing views
- Why the Family Chose an Espiritista: Reasons mother sought traditional Puerto Rican healing
- Normative Cultural Values and Healthcare Decision-Making: How cultural values shape open-minded treatment choices
- Conclusion: Cultural competence lessons from the case
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds abstract concepts — normative cultural values, traditional healing — in a concrete, relatable case narrative, making the analysis accessible and specific.
- Presents multiple stakeholder perspectives (family, grandmother, clinic physicians) side by side, demonstrating analytical balance rather than one-sided advocacy.
- Avoids cultural judgment by framing the family's choices as rational responses to a failing treatment plan, which strengthens the paper's credibility and empathy.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper applies course-specific lecture concepts — normative cultural values — directly to case evidence, modeling the move from theoretical framework to applied analysis. This technique, sometimes called "concept application," requires the writer to define the concept, identify where it appears in the case, and explain the significance of that connection rather than simply summarizing events.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a question-driven structure common in case-study assignments: a brief narrative introduction establishes context, then three distinct analytical questions are addressed in sequence. Each response is short but focused, with the longest and most theoretically grounded answer saved for the final question on normative cultural values — an effective choice that ends on the paper's strongest analytical point.
Introduction: Straddling Two Worlds
The subject of this case study was the first in his family to be born on American soil, which meant that his life was destined to straddle two worlds: the world of his parents and ancestors in Puerto Rico, and the world of his life as an American citizen. His parents were "very proud" that their son could be born on American soil and worked hard to make that happen ("The Case of [Student]," n.d.). His Spanish-speaking household consists of himself, three older siblings, one younger sibling, his parents, and his grandmother.
Severe asthma has hampered his health since he was two years old. His parents changed their lifestyle to accommodate and remedy the situation, going so far as to move to a new apartment. He receives and takes medication for his asthma but still experiences symptoms such as nighttime wheezing. Because the medications were not working, his grandmother suggested that he see an espiritista — a traditional spiritual healer rooted in Puerto Rican folk medicine. He did, and stopped taking prescription medications in favor of the herbal teas and prayer remedies the espiritista prescribed.
References
"The Case of [Student]." (n.d.). Retrieved from
Phillips, M. J. (n.d.). Normative cultural values. Lecture. Retrieved from
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