Communication forms the basis of interactions among different people. It is therefore important to understand the communication patterns of people from different cultural backgrounds in order to communicate with them effectively. This is because each culture is characterized by unique communication patterns.
The first Cuban communication pattern that should be taken into consideration when talking to Hernandez is the distance Cubans maintain as they speak to strangers. However, the distance is usually short when speaking with relatives, friends or coworkers. The second Cuban communication style to be aware of is the use of illustrations or gestures to emphasize a point. Any important point should be emphasized through gestures. The third important Cuban communication pattern is constant eye contact when talking to a person. Cubans take this as a sign of good faith and honesty (Cultural Information Conversations, 2013).
It is very important for Hernandez to follow the advice given by medical experts by ensuring that her food is limited to 1500 calories. For her to achieve this calorie limit, I would help her to identify foods that are rich in calories. Some of them include animal fats, nuts and seeds, vegetable oils, processed meat and cheese among others. Once Hernandez gets these foods, she is supposed to come up with a feeding timetable and follow it strictly. This would enable her to stick to the prescribed diet for the best health results. With regard to exercising regularly, Hernandez should start by doing light exercises in her house every day for the body to get used. As time goes by, she can start jogging every morning and eventually start doing regular heavy exercises.
I would not encourage Hernandez to go to the botanica to buy herbs. This is because it is important to follow instructions given by physicians. These are people who have medical expertise and whenever they give certain medical instructions, it is always advisable to follow them strictly. There are also some harmful effects that may arise from the use of herbs because some of them are prepared by individuals who do not have adequate medical knowledge. It might not be possible to convince Hernandez to abandon her decision to use herbs thus, it requires a lot of caution and convincing power to change her attitude. The best approach would be to explain to her the importance of following the advice given by individuals with medical knowledge. In addition, I would give her details of how use of herbs might be harmful to her health and how her health might be affected.
Cuban families have folk practices that they have used for many years to maintain their health and cure common ailments. Most of the folk remedies involve use of herbs and plants and are passed from one generation to another. The first folk remedy used in Cuba to cure common ailments is coleus amboinicus and oregano, which are used to treat mild coughs. Ocimum sanctum is used to treat diabetes while cancer is treated by use of Morinda citrifolia. Hibiscus sabdarifa treats many ailments in Cuba including stomach diseases and high blood pressure (Pendleton, 2013). Cubans are also known to use water to treat themselves. They have a belief that when they trust in God and use water, their ailments are cured. Scientists argue that the water treatment used by Cubans has a foundation in science. The methods mentioned above have been used by Cubans for many years to cure mild ailments. (Purnell, 2011)
References
Cultural Information – Conversations. (2013). Web.
Pendleton, C. (2013). What Are Cuban Folk Remedies? Web.
Purnell, L. (2013). Transcultural Health Care: A culturally competent approach. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Co.