1. What are Haitians’ views of homosexuality?

There is still a traditional view of homosexuality in Haiti. Most Haitians believe homosexuality undermines the values of the community and is immoral. Several years ago, Jovenel Moise issued an executive order reshaping a one hundred and eighty-five year old law on various issues, including abortion and homosexuality; most citizens opposed it and petitioned against it (Colin, 2021). The new laws were considered to be a violation of Haitian culture and values by the majority of religious groups. In all of these cases, homosexuality is despised from the point of view of the Haitian people. Additionally, most churches have always condemned homosexuality. It has become increasingly common for homosexual Haitians to be harassed and attacked in recent years. Law enforcement agencies such as the police do not typically show sympathy to individuals who have been victimized by anti-gay or anti-lesbian violence.

2. If Ronald’s parents were to learn of his positive HIV status, how might they react if they are religious and traditional?

As part of God’s stipulation for an upright lifestyle, the Christian religion teaches abstinence before marriage (Munoz-Laboy, et al., 2016). Based on the information provided about Ronald’s parents, they are highly respected, possess high moral values, and are religious, so they could be religious and traditional, as well. It is possible that they may have different reactions if they learn that their son has been diagnosed with HIV. It is likely that they will feel anger towards their son at first, since there is a high probability that he has tested positive for HIV but may have engaged in sexual activities that ultimately resulted in him getting the disease. In addition, Ronald’s parents are likely to feel embarrassed since they are well aware the society will lose confidence in them and others will judge them because they didn’t teach their son morality. His parents’ behavior can also explain Ronald’s fears about what might happen to him if they learned that he is gay. It is likely that his parents will condemn him and possibly disown him as a consequence.

3. Identify three major culturally congruent strategies a healthcare provider can implement to address HIV prevention practices in the Haitian community?

Developing culturally congruent nursing care strategies involves considering the values, beliefs, and practices of the patient. In order to reduce HIV transmission in the Haitian community, healthcare providers must use such strategies. The process of recognizing and appreciating a community’s uniqueness is one of the culturally congruent strategies (Pacquiao & Purnell, 2018). In order to achieve more effective HIV prevention, the healthcare provider should respect the Haitian culture and customs and tailor HIV prevention practices to suit the Haitian’s beliefs. It means that healthcare providers need to expand their knowledge on Haitian cultural practices and beliefs and learn more about them.

The healthcare provider’s attitude can impact how they treat their patients (Pacquiao & Purnell, 2018). To make HIV prevention practices or strategies more effective, healthcare providers must embrace the Haitian culture and approach HIV prevention care with positivity. In order to deal effectively with the Haitian community, you need to demonstrate clear communication skills. Hence, healthcare providers need to explain HIV prevention concepts in simple vocabulary and layman’s language, preventing language barriers from preventing effective HIV prevention. As a third approach, we can create awareness at the community level. Among the community-level interventions suggested by Douglas et al. (2018) are the collection of demographic and medical data, cooperation with major national healthcare bodies, and involving the whole community in HIV prevention activities.

Reference 

Colin, J. M. (2021). People of Haitian heritage. In Textbook for Transcultural Health Care: A Population Approach(pp. 469-495). Springer, Cham.

Munoz-Laboy, M., Garcia, J., Moon-Howard, J., Wilson, P. A., & Parker, R. (2015). Religious

responses to HIV and AIDS. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Books.

Pacquiao, D., & Purnell, L. (Eds.). (2018). Global applications of culturally competent healthcare: guidelines for practice. Springer International Publishing.