Barriers in Diversity

Diversity in health care can seriously affect the quality of health communication; especially in a country as the United States that has become increasingly more ethnically and culturally diverse. Nationality, lifestyle, health, and educational status are aspects of diversity that can become potential barriers in health communication.

With regard to nationality; cultural differences and language barriers can affect negatively health communication and treatment outcome. For example, a Muslim female patient from an Islamic country may strongly oppose medical treatment from male health care providers based on her faith and culture; this can become a major barrier as this can lead to less frequent use of more specialized services such...