Gender,

Socioeconomic,
and Cultural
Attributes of the
Learner
Savellon, Tabares,
Villahermosa, Zamora, Yu

01
 Gender Charactertistics
There are differences as to how males and females act, react, and
perform in situations affecting every aspect of life
Men and women use different parts of their brains
Male and female identity is a creation of both nature and nurture

COGNITIVE ABILITIES
Gender Intelligence - inconsistent findings on whether
males and females differ
Verbal Ability - no significant
gender differences
Mathematical Ability - boys show PERSONALITY TRAITS
signs of excelling relative to girls 1. Aggression - males usually more dominant,
Spatial Ability - of males is assertive, active, hostile, and destructive
consistently better than that of 2. Conformity and Dependence - females have
females been found to be more conforming and more
Problem Solving - mixed findings influenced by suggestion
regarding gender differences 3. Emotional Adjustment - women tend to be at
(in human relations, women greater risk for depression, anxiety and mood
perform better) disorders; men are at greater risk for
School Achievement - Without exception, girls get better hypertension, substance abuse, and antisocial
grades on average than boys behavior (tests to measure mental health usually
have been designed by men and may be biased
against women)
02
 Gender Charactertistics
VALUES AND LIFE GOALS
Men = scientific, mechanical, & physically active occupations;
economic and political values
Women = literary, social service, and clerical occupations;
aesthetic, social sense, and religious values
These differences have become smaller over time, and
society has begun to take a more equal
opportunity viewpoint for all genders

ACHIEVEMENT ORIENTATION SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY

Females = more likely to express LGBTQ = Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender,
achievement motivation in social and Queer/Questioning
skills and social relations
Men = more likely to try to succeed When considering gender and the social and
in intellectual or competitive other factors that influence the unique learning
styles and educational needs of men and women,
activities.
it is important to include the LGBTQ community.

Gender gap = behavioral and biological differences between males and females
Gender bias = “a preconceived notion about the abilities of women and men that
prevented individuals from pursuing their own interests and achieving their potentials.”

03
 Gender
Charactertistics
Males and females display different orientations and
learning styles
Women and men are part of different
social cultures = they use different
symbols, belief systems, and ways to
express themselves As an educator, nurses must create an
Nurses need to be familiar with environment that is welcoming to all gender
the labels, terms, and phrases identities
preferred by the LGBTQ
community and use them When working with men and women, it is
appropriately in conversations important that nurses should avoid making
assumptions about family structure, sexual
and in preparing teaching
orientation, or lifestyle
materials
To complete an accurate assessment of every individual, the nurse should
take the opportunity to gather accurate information from the patient

04
 Socio-economic (SE) Characteristics
The single most important determinant of both physical
and mental health in our society

Disadvantaged people - those with low incomes, low

educational levels, or social deprivation - come from
many different ethnic groups

Globally, people with low SE status are 46% more likely

to die early. Individuals with higher incomes and are
better educated live longer and healthier than those
who are of low income and poorly educated.

This influences health beliefs, health practices, and

readiness to learn.

05
 Socio-economic (SE) Characteristics
According to World Health Organization (WHO, 2017),
the determinants of health include the following factors:
The social economic environment
The physical environment
The individual characteristics and behaviors of
people

Nurse needs to educates the consumer about

avoiding health risks, reducing illness episodes, etc

Nurses must be aware of the likely effects of low SES

on an individual’s ability to learn because of less than
average cognitive learning

Nurses should not assume though, that everyone at

the poverty or near-poverty level is equally
influenced by these threats to their well-being

06
 Cultural
Characteristics
To keep pace with a society that is becoming more
culturally diverse, nurses need to have knowledge
about the cultural values and beliefs of specific
subcultural ethnic groups and apply transcultural
nursing care practice.

Cultural sensitivity may help to reduce racial and

ethnic biases in the healthcare settings

Underrepresented ethnic groups demand health care

that respects their cultural rights while their beliefs
and practices are incorporated into the care they
receive.

07
 Hispanic / Latin Culture

4 Major Black / African American Culture

Subcultural
Ethnic
Groups Asian / Pacific Islander Culture
Defined by the U.S. Census Bureau
(2011) for the total U.S. population

American Indian / Alaska Native

Culture
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 Hispanic / Latin Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, and other Latin

Culture
descents

Have special healthcare needs that must be addressed

but are less likely to receive preventive care, due to
lack health insurance and have less access to health
care
Family is the center of Hispanic people’s lives = focus
of patient education by nurses needs to be on the
family rather than on individual

Low educational attainment level = using

sophisticated teaching methods and computer
resources would be inappropriate
Design education programs that can be targeted to
meet distinct ethnic needs while demonstrating
cultural sensitivity
09
 Black / African American Culture
African, Haitian, Dominican Republic descents

Seek assistance from nurses and physicians only when

they deem absolutely needed; folk practitioners held in
high esteem and are sought after for culturally sensitive
care

Nurse must explore the patient’s value systems and cultural

beliefs; folk practices should be respected and incorporated
into healthcare treatment
Nurses must concentrate on disease prevention measures
and provide culturally appropriate health education
Must establish a trusting relationship and recognize their
unique responses to health and illness based on spiritual
foundations, family ties and traditional beliefs

10
 Asian / Pacific Islander Culture
Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese,
Hawaiian, Guamanian, Samoan and Asian Indian
descents

Major barriers to health care are language, cultural

beliefs, health literacy, health insurance and
immigrant status
Eastern medicine relies on traditional Asian healing
practices (e.g. herbal remedies, acupuncture and
cupping) = seek healthcare only when seriously ill
Asians are sensitive and formal, so nurses must
use a non-threatening approach, give them
reassurance and the permission to ask questions
Nurses must remember that education is most
effective when it is a two-way process = both
patients (+ their families) as well as the nurse need
to be aware of the challenges created by their
11 cultural beliefs and practices
 American Indian / Descendants of hundreds tribes of Native

Alaska Native
Americans and of Eskimo descent

Culture
Central aspect of Native American medicine is
ceremonial and with the notion of a supernatural power;
nurses must demonstrate legitimate respect for their
ritualistic symbols and ceremonial activities

Nurses need to understand the nature and

consequences of illness problems from the ethnic
group’s perspective = a more ethnomedical orientation
Some tribes consider looking in the another’s eyes may
reveal/steal their souls, nurses must remember that a
lack of eye contact doesn’t mean the patient is
inattentive
Nurses need to focus on giving information about
diseases and risk factors, teach skills for changes in diet
and exercise and help build positive coping mechanisms
12
 defined by Purnell (2013) as “an oversimplified
conception, opinion or belief about some aspect
of an individual or group of people"

Nurse educators and other health professionals

must relate to each person as an individual. It is
important to develop an awareness that although a
person can be considered a member or may identify

Stereotyping
with members of a certain ethnic group, the
individual has his or her own abilities, experiences,
preferences, practices, learning needs, learning
styles, and readiness to learn.

13
 Stereotyping can be useful and an acceptable
process to organize or classify people if based on
facts and logical reasoning that helps to identify and
understand information. It can be negative if it is
used to place people in an artificial or unfair position
that oversignifies their situation and is not based on
facts. Negative stereotyping can result in poorer
health outcomes for the patients. Stereotyping
members of health professions can lead to negative
or false perceptions that hinder the delivery of
collaborative patient centered care by healthcare
teams

Stereotyping Stereotype threat is a term used to describe a

negative impression associated with an individual’s
status that triggers physiological and psychological
behaviors in patients as well as in providers that may
be a contributor to healthcare disparities.

14
 Nurses must concentrate on treating people of all genders
equally when providing access to health education,
delivering health and illness care, and designing health
education materials that contain bias-free language and
use gender-fair language, to reduce gender stereotyping
and social discrimination.

Nurses should choose words that are accurate, clear, and

free from bias whenever speaking or writing about an
individual or a group of individuals.

Nurses have a responsibility to stay informed of the most

current beliefs and facts about various gender attributes,
socio-economic influences, and cultural traditions that
could influence their teaching and learning either positively
or negatively.

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 Thanks for
Listening!

Savellon, Tabares, Villahermosa,

Zamora, Yu

BSN 1-A

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