Textbook:	When I Nod, I Mean 'No'!
ID:	WINIMN
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Intended for health professionals who work with immigrants and people from other cultures, this 150-page, pocket-sized reference book provides behavioural and cultural background information about people from all major countries, including their religious and national holidays.

Information is provided on 30 countries. For each country, the following topics are covered:

major languages
major religions
health beliefs
relevant cultural practices
tips on socially acceptable and unacceptable behaviors

“When I Nod, I Mean ‘No!’” also has sections on:

major world religions
religious and national holidays by country
complementary medicine that includes explanations
of over 50 different "alternative" therapies
general guidelines in dealing with patients
tips for working effectively with immigrants
working with interpreters

Description:

158 pages, 4 3/4 " by 8 "
easy to fit into a pocket

 

Review by Kathleen Conboy-Ellis RN, PhD, MHA, CPNP, AE-C

“When I Nod I Mean “No!” is a ‘must read' for every practitioner who cares for patients from diverse cultures and religions. I think that includes just about all of us.

In this book the author shares with us tips for building a trusting relationship, and for communicating clearly with peoples of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. I teach all over the USA, and everywhere I go, I hear nurses asking for advice on how to work with recent immigrants – from Asia, for example – who have come to their clinics. These nurses want to offer the best possible level of care, but are perplexed by the language and cultural barriers. I always recommend this book to them.

I take this book with me to the Free Clinic where I work, as I often care for patients with asthma who have migrated to Florida from the Caribbean. It has been invaluable – it’s a quick, easy-to-read reference book.

The book is divided into five major sections which deal with general guidelines (for working with immigrants); beliefs and practices in some 30 countries; major world religions; world holidays; and some 60 different complementary (alternative) medicines and therapies.

The author has included a chapter on effective communication and on building relationships. She also provides information on specific religions, and their holidays, that might affect asthma care. Her description of how to communicate appropriately with people from other ethnic backgrounds will help us avoid miscommunication while building trusting relationships, which is the most important componenet when partnering with patients for best asthma care.

She goes on to remind readers that this book is only a beginning primer, and that it will be necessary to do further reading to study any one culture in depth.

In summary, I think all clinicians caring for diverse populations need this book as a primary reference on their bookshelves.