author) that cultural stereotypes are automatically
activated independent of “the level of prejudice of
the individual”! (150) An extremely prominent
stereotype of Asian descendents in America is that
they “are healthier than all other racial/ethnic
groups in the United States (Chen et al. 336). This
is simply not true, in fact, many Chinese
immigrants fail to seek care (Chen et al. 338) from
biomedical providers; they instead gather
information from family, friends, coworkers, and
internet sources as they seek to identify and/or
treat their symptoms (Chen et al. 341-342). The
building of trust (Chen et al. 344) between patient
and provider is a key factor in the seeking of and
compliance with care regardless of the type of care
being sought. In fact if a traditional healer is not
recommended by family or friends, does not have
a proven success rate, or if he/she charges too
much their services will not be sought out by the
Chinese community either according to Green et
al. (1506).
It is estimated that 76% of Chinese
immigrants between the ages of 18 and 64
currently living in the United States do not speak
English (Chen et al. 336). The language barrier
when combined with an overwhelmingly complex
U.S. medical system (Chen et al. 336), the lack of
printed Chinese materials (Chen et al. 341;
Tervalon and Garcia 118), intentional and
unintentional acts of insensitivity by medical
personnel (Stone and Moskowitz 769), perceived
and real differences between religious, cultural,
and traditional values (Chen 270), and strong
biological communication traits (Chia-Fang 422423) combine in a fashion that both creates and
maintains
common
misconceptions
and
stereotypes. So can medical professionals
overcome these