Week 1: what is culture
•Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014), they found that students who took notes on laptops performed ______ on conceptual questions than those who took notes by hand.
• Students who took notes on laptops performed worse on conceptual questions than those who took notes by hand.
______ respects diversity in the patient population and cultural factors that can affect health and health care, such as language, communication styles, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.
1. What is Cultural Competency
• _______ is the world’s largest international organization and the headquarters is located in__________.
- United Nations
- New York
Where were noodles first invented? or Where were the oldest known noodles found?
We don't know where noodles were invented. Noodles do not preserve well archaeologically, their invention could well be prehistoric, early written sources don't typically mention food. What we know for certain is that the oldest known noodles have been found in China
How many hours of field training must be completed for MPH practicum?
According to Hofstede’s Cultural Framework, is culture learned or inherited?
•Culture is learned, not inherited.
A.______ uses a patient’s language and culture as tools to improve outcomes for that individual. Providers/agencies hold culture in high esteem.
1.Cultural Proficiency
What are LMICs and LICs and MICs, and how are they categorized (what metric or data)
•LMIC is based on World Bank statistics that divide up countries by gross domestic product (GDP): low income, lower middle income, middle income, and high income
Food choices: What is the difference between halal and haram in the Islamic faith?
•Halal (permissible) vs Haram (forbidden)
Who is eligible for the practicum (PM 596) 1 unit course?
Completion of at least 3 MPH courses. It is strongly recommended that these 3 classes include 2 public health core classes and one concentration core class. One of the 3 MPH classes may be taken concurrently with PM 596. In addition, students must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher in order to begin their practicum.
According to Hofstede’s Cultural Framework, what are cultural rituals?
•Rituals are collective activities, which, within a culture, are considered socially essential; they are, therefore, carried out for their own sake.
•Ways of greeting, personal hygiene, paying respect to others, and social and religious ceremonies are examples.
• ____________ is a lifelong process of self-reflection, critique, and awareness of power dynamics, coupled with a respectful attitude of learning from individuals about their unique experiences
Cultural humility
Examples of health disparities versus health differences?
•Disparity indicates a specific kind of difference, namely, worse health among socially disadvantaged people and, in particular, members of disadvantaged racial/ethnic groups and economically disadvantaged people within any racial/ethnic group.
What is Dietary Acculturation?
a complex process by which a person or group of people adopt elements of a new food culture while maintaining aspects of their original cultural dietary practices
If the organization/agency you are working with is not on the Official Practicum Sites list, your supervisor will need to submit the Agency Application and Affiliation Agreement before you can start your hours.
According to Hofstede’s Cultural Framework, what are cultural values?
•Values are a society's socially desirable goals and standards internalized through socialization. Cultural values are a culture's standard for determining what is good and just in society
•Have a + and - side. They deal with the dichotomies of good vs. evil, dirty vs. clean, ugly vs. beautiful, unnatural vs. natural, abnormal vs. normal, success vs. failure, and so on.
__________ is the absence of unfair and avoidable and reversible differences in health among social groups
Health Equity
What are the historical origins of the terms First, Second and Third World?
•The First World consisted of the U.S., Western Europe, and their allies.
•The Second World was the so-called Communist Bloc: the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, and friends.
•The remaining nations aligned with neither group were assigned to the Third World.
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•Because many countries in the Third World were impoverished, the term came to be used to refer to “poor countries”.
Reading: Middle Eastern Mothers’ Infant Feeding Practices in Canada: What caused mothers to doubt advice from healthcare professionals in Canada?
Conflicting advice
Once your practicum is approved, do you need to create an online profile through USC to log your hours or track hours using paper forms?
Creating your Practicum Portfolio site – Go to the practicum website (https://pmportal.usc.edu/) and click on “First Time Setup” and follow the prompts to create your portfolio site so you can log your hours using the Time Card function.
In a study by Ward et al (2017), where did participants place their phones during the experiment, and how did phone placement impact working memory (solve math problems while keeping track of randomly generated letter sequences)?
Phones were placed on desk, in a pocket/bag or in another room
When phones were placed in another room, Px performed significantly better than Px with phones on desk or in pocket.
The United States spends more money on health care and still has the highest poverty rate measured by the OECD, the greatest income inequality, and some of the poorest health outcomes among developed countries. What is the biggest healthcare expense?
Inpatient and Outpatient care (compared to long term care, preventative care, Rx, Administration and other costs)
__________ is often characterized as the poorest nation in the Global North, but why?
Haiti
Historical Roots of Health Inequalities: Colonial legacies created extractive economies, weak health systems, and systemic discrimination that continue to shape inequities.
•Health infrastructures were built to serve colonial powers, not local populations, leaving many LMICs with fragile systems at independence
•Colonial powers often marginalized or actively suppressed indigenous medical knowledge and health practices, eroding community-based health solutions.
•What does the 'typical' Western diet consist of?
•Large portions of meat, especially beef, pork, and chicken
•Large amounts of dairy products, such as milk, cheese, and yogurt
•High intake of processed foods and sugary beverages, including sodas, snacks, and packaged sweets
Does USC have MPH practicum director and/or practicum coordinators? If so, who are they?
Jane Steinberg, PhD, MPH
Practicum Director
Email: janestei@usc.edu
Linda Mendoza Lopez, MPH Practicum Coordinator: lindam@usc.edu