For complete case studies, go to Cases by Topic You can locate the case under the heading listed in [parentheses] after the topic.

Prejudice and Discrimination [Basic Concepts]
African American male distrustful of hospitals and white institutions in general.

Folk Medicine/Fevers [Folk Medicine]
African American baby whose grandmother who wanted to treat his fever by making him sweat and drink chamomile tea.

Gender Role Conflict [Men & Women]
Nigerian male nurse assistant who would not follow orders given by females.

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Values [Basic Concepts]
Chinese woman who agreed to come back in two weeks for a follow-up examination but who didn't because she didn't want to refuse to his face and cause him dishonor.

Drawing Blood [Religion, Beliefs, & Customs]
Mien gentleman who refused to have his blood drawn.

Sacred Symbols [Religion, Beliefs, & Customs]
A Cambodian infant with several strands of dark brown strings, about one-half inch wide, on both wrists.

Attitudes Toward Pain Medication [Pain]
Filipino nurse who undermedicated mother for cancer pain.

The Role of the Nurse [Staff Relations]
Filipino nurse who did not get along well with her coworkers.

Postpartum Lying In [Birth]
Postpartum Vietnamese woman who rejected most of the food and liquids prepared by the hospital, refused to shower or wash her hair and would not get out of bed except to use the bathroom.

Bonding [Birth]
Vietnamese woman who appeared not to bond with her infant.

Dietary Practices: Hot and Cold [Diet]
Pakistani woman who wouldn't eat because the wrong foods were being offered.

Doctor-Nurse Relations [Staff Relations]
Anglo nurse who refused medication order given by Japanese physician.

Self-Care [Family]
Japanese man who refused to do anything for himself, insisting that his wife or the nurse do it.

Coining [Folk Medicine]
Korean man who died because ER staff focussed on coining marks, thinking they were related to his coma.

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Stereotype vs. Generalization [Basic Concepts]
Mexican woman whose post-surgical pain is dangerously ignored when she is stereotyped as a "whiny Mexican female who, as usual, was exaggerating her pain."

Informed Consent/Interpreters [Communication]
Hispanic woman whose son incorrectly translated "hysterectomy" on informed consent.

Evil Eye [Religion, Beliefs, & Customs]
Mexican-American woman who accused home health nurse of giving her baby the evil eye.

Informed Consent [Men & Women]
Mexican woman who wouldn't sign informed consent, saying she needed her husband's permission before anything could be done to the baby.

Informed Consent [Death & Dying]
Mexican woman, dying of cancer who could not get hospice care because family would not allow her to see the consent form (and prognosis).

Medications: Improper Use [Folk Medicine]
Mexican woman who made poultice out of medication instead of taking it orally.

Breastfeeding [Birth]
Mexican American woman who didn't want to nurse, thinking colostrum was "bad" milk.

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Women and Authority [Men & Women]
Iranian parents who became completely uncooperative when a female oncologist was assigned to treat their son.

Female Modesty [Men & Women]
Arab man who refused to let a male lab technician enter his wife's room to draw blood or fix the toilet.

Female "Circumcision" aka Female Genital Mutilation [Men & Women]
Egyptian woman in labor with severely deformed vagina.

Female Virginity [Men & Women]
Bedouin girl who was killed by family for being unmarried and pregnant.

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Authority Figures [Men & Women]
Young Gypsy boy; all decisions made by elder males, rather than his own parents.

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Soul Loss [Religion, Beliefs, & Customs]
Navaho boy who was upset when nurse took his photograph.

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Touching [Communication]
The Orthodox Jewish husband of a patient refused to shake the nurse's hand when she held it out to him due to Jewish prohibition against touching between members of the opposite sex.

Blood Transfusions [Religion, Beliefs, & Customs]
Jehovah's Witness whose doctor decided to transfuse her and was later sued by her for assault and battery.

The Garment [Religion, Beliefs, & Customs]
Mormon woman refused to remove her long underwear, and the surgeon refused to operate unless she did.

Hair [Religion, Beliefs, & Customs]
Sikh from India who refused to have any of his hair shaved.

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