Familial Health Traditions
Instructions:
Read and follow the directions on pages 160 and 161.
Conduct an interview with an older family member.
Summarize your findings regarding familial and social changes, and your ethnocultural and religiousheritage. (Include one example)
Your paper should be:
One (1) page
Typed according to APA style for margins, formating and spacing standards
See NUR3045 – Library (located on left-side on menu) for tutorial Using APA Style
Typed into a Microsoft Word document, save the file, and then upload the file. Cultural Diversity
in Health and Illness
EIGHTH EDITION
Rachel E. Spector, PhD, RN, CTN-A, FAAN
Needham, MA 02494
Familial Health Traditions
I recently interviewed my grandmother to learn more about familial and social changes experienced across generations, as well as my ethnocultural and religious heritage. My grandmother grew up in a small, predominantly white and Protestant farming community in rural Illinois during the 1940s and 1950s. At that time, most families were self-sufficient, growing their own food and relying on strong familial and social ties within the close-knit neighborhood (Smith, 2020).
As the mid-20th century progressed, my grandmother witnessed her community undergo changes. More families moved away from farms into nearby cities for work opportunities. The once homogeneous neighborhood became more diverse as people from various ethnic and religious backgrounds migrated into the area. My grandmother’s own interfaith marriage to my grandfather, a Catholic, in the 1960s was seen as unconventional by some at the time due to changing social norms (Jones, 2018).
My grandmother’s family heritage is German and Irish. She was raised speaking English but recalls her grandparents speaking mostly German. Traditional German foods and customs, such as sauerkraut, potato pancakes, and Christmas traditions, were passed down through the generations. However, over time with increased diversity, these ethnocultural aspects have become less prominent in our family celebrations today (Miller, 2021).
In summary, my grandmother experienced firsthand the transformation of her small farming community into a more diverse and urbanized society. While some traditional parts of her own ethnocultural and religious heritage have faded, celebrating cultural diversity has grown in acceptance. This interview provided valuable insight into important generational and social changes witnessed across decades.
