Cultural Assessment - Sweden Essay Example for Free

Cultural Assessment Sweden Essay Culture is a dynamic structure of behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, habits, beliefs, customs, languages, rituals, ceremonies, and practices that are unique to a particular group of people. I see great value in learning about different cultures and about cultural diversity, including a broader perspective of others, enhanced problem-solving ability and creativity, and potential improved productivity in my future workplaces. For this assignment, I have chosen to do a cultural assessment of the Swedish Culture. Doing so has broadened my understanding of the Sweden’s cultural perspectives and will help in bridging cultural gaps with future Swedish clients. I hope this will help me become a more culturally competent nurse and help me in providing optimal, global healthcare in a society which is growing more and more culturally/ethnically diverse. I know first-hand that variation does occur within each cultural group, and there is a tendency to assume that all members of an identified group are the same. Sweden, a country that once reflected only a single or perhaps a few ethnic groups now comprises more than 100 different ethnic groups so for the purposes of this paper, I will write about the Swedish culture as a whole. Sweden is a country on the Scandinavian peninsula in Northern Europe, with it’s capital being Stockholm. It is fourth in size among the European counties, with about 15% of its total area situated north of the Arctic Circle. You would think that the weather in Sweden would be colder year long due to it’s longitude but the average Stockholm’s average temperature is 20-65 degrees Fahrenheit year round. Sweden has a total population of about 9. 4 million people as of 2009 with the majority of residents living in urban areas. Sweden’s capital city, Stockholm, had a population of 1,697,000 in 2005. From 1865 to 1930, nearly 1,400,000 Swedes, emigrated; over 80% went to the United States, and about 15% to other close by countries. This heavy migration ended in the mid-1900s when resource development in Sweden started to keep pace with population growth. Since the early 1970s, there has been a flood of immigration to Sweden, mostly due to refugee migration and family reunification from countries in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. As far as cultural makeup, the Swedes are primarily Finish, Scandinavians or of German origin. The remaining population is comprised of immigrants, including Danes, Poles, Iraqis, Iranians, Norwegians, Greeks, and Turks. Swedish is the national language in Sweden. It consists of the same letters of the English alphabet in addition to a, a, and o. Many Swedes speak and understand English and German, and to a lesser extent, Finnish. English has been a compulsory subject for all Swedish students since the late 1940s. Swedens high-quality scientific, communication and technological development is renowned throughout the world. The World Economic Forum 2009–2010 competitiveness index ranks Sweden the 4th most competitive economy in the world. Three of Swedens largest industrial corporations are engineering companies: L. M. Ericsson, Volvo, and SAAB-Scania. Ericsson, one of the largest telecom companies in the world was started by Lars Ericsson of Sweden. Technology is prevalent all over Sweden. Swedes are accustomed to communicating through the same technology that is available in the United States. Swedes communicate via. cell phones, internet, media, and print. As far as family roles and organization within Swedish culture, human rights and equality are deeply respected in Sweden. Sweden is one of the most egalitarian societies in the world. Family life is important in typical Swedish families, but family structure is diverse and offers differing lifestyles and beliefs from one family to the next. In a typical family, both parents work. Household chores are usually democratically divided among Swedish family members, regardless of traditional female and male roles and age. Swedish houses tend to be small and tidy. Mutual respect between children and adults is nurtured at an early age. More than 5 percent of the Swedish population are aged 80 or over. Many elderly people in Sweden are in good health and lead active lives. Most live in their own homes by choice, and can do so thanks to public support in the form of home meal delivery, help with cleaning and shopping, transportation and healthcare when needed. Health and social care for the elderly constitutes an important part of Swedish welfare policy. Most elderly care is funded by municipal taxes and government grants. Sweden invests more of its GDP in caring for its elderly than any other country in the world. All Swedish residents are entitled to a guaranteed minimum pension from the age of 65, the standard retirement age in Sweden. In the Swedish healthcare system, responsibility for health and medical care is shared by the central government, county councils and municipalities. Sweden is divided into 290 municipalities, 18 county councils and two regions. Around 90 percent of the Swedish county councils’ work involves healthcare, but they are also involved in other areas, such as culture and infrastructure. Responsibility for providing healthcare is decentralized to the county councils. I learned that county councils are political bodies whose representatives are elected by their residents every four years. Every county council must provide the population with -quality health and medical care, and work toward promoting good health for the entire population. County councils are also responsible for dental care for local residents up to the age of 20. Swedish people have free choice in health care meaning they can obtain care in any of the 60 hospitals in Sweden that provide specialist care, with emergency services 24 hours a day. Eight of these are regional hospitals where highly specialized care is offered and where most teaching and research is based. What’s great is everyone in Sweden has equal access to healthcare services; The Swedish healthcare system is taxpayer-funded. According to the Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control, a Swedish government expert agency, Sweden is relatively well protected from the spread of communicable diseases. Good hygienic conditions prevail among Swedish society and public health is well developed. Medical progress and preventative measures protect the Swedish population from infections that, in other countries of the world, may cause large scale disasters. Sweden continues to vaccinate, trace infections, fight outbreaks, and engage in research on diseases. Sweden as a whole, maintains a high level of preparedness in order to prevent disease, and avian influenza from gaining a foothold in Sweden. Life expectancy in Sweden continues to rise. In 2008, it was 79 years for men and 83 years for women. Sweden along with Italy has Europe’s largest elderly population as a proportion of the national total. According to www. sweden. se, Sweden’s healthcare system performs well in comparison with other countries at a similar level of development.