Towards A Multicultural Approach in Occidental Health Care: The Example of Orofacial Clefts

Volume 5 • Issue 6 • 1000173 J Health Med Inform ISSN: 2157-7420 JHMI, an open access journal Latest studies concerning the psychological impact of orofacial cleft showed that, with the improvements in surgery and with adequate multidisciplinary support, clefts were no more associated with major psychological problems. However, the growth of humanitarian craniofacial care, as well as the increase of populations’ migration, raises new concerns about cultural influences in the perception and satisfaction with surgical interventions, and treatment success, suggesting that medical acts alone are not the only answer to such malformation. Moreover, at a time of world migrations and mixed ethnicities, physicians and surgeons are exposed in their practice to a multiplicity of cultures that understands and conceptualizes “health” and “illness” differently. These differences in the perception of illness and care could lead to a gap of understanding between physicians and patients, which could impact patients’ adherence to treatment, healing processes and further utilization of health care systems. Therefore, it is now crucial to assess and implement models of health care integrating cultural aspects.