Problem
It is now six years after Ishkode had her first child, a son, Binisi, and the family has grown even larger. There are now 5 children and Binisi's grandmother living in the same small house in Sheguiandah First Nation Reserve. Ishkode, takes care of her family as best she can, and she feels lucky to have her mother there to give her advice and a helping hand. Serious asthma problems run in the family, and Binisi is no exception. When he was 2 years old, a series of awful wheezing episodes sent him to the hospital multiple times. To help with Binisi's asthma problems, Ishkode and Makwa are planning to relocate to a different house that has no carpeting, and Makwa has limited his smoking to outside. The house has poor ventilation and has some water leaks from the roof. The family has two dogs, which could be a problem, but they just couldn't see getting rid of two loved members of their family. Binisi takes a lot of medications for his asthma symptoms. Despite these actions, Binisi continues to have heavy wheezing and a tight cough, especially at night. They are having difficulty arranging for him to be seen by the doctor, as the waiting list is 6 months long, and the travel there is difficult and requires a 1000 km journey by plane. With Binisi continuing to have asthma problems, the family became skeptical that the medications weren't working. Under the guidance of her mother, she took Binisi to their clan's Medicine Person. At the Medicine Person's advice, the family stopped giving Binisi some of the prescribed medications and began giving him an herbal tea made of licorice root and began to use a topical salve made from thistle on his chest twice a day to help with the coughing.
A. Using your knowledge of health disparities and inequities, provide 2 examples of how a nurse could optimize care for Binisi.
B. Why do you think Binisi's mom consulted a Medicine Person when Binisi was not getting better?
C. How might nurses advocate the incorporation of Indigenous health knowledge with mainstream western medicine in developing a treatment plan for Binisi?
D. Reflect on your own assumptions and biases surrounding medical care and how you might interpret alternate practices.
E. How might you adapt your nursing practice in response to Ishkode's spiritual beliefs or cultural practices?