The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Faidman

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Faidman

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a book authored by Anne Faidman, published in 1997. The book brings to light the collision of two cultures in the medical field between patients and medical practitioners. The book is about a four-year-old girl named Lia Lee, who is admitted to the Merced hospital in California because of her epileptic condition. Lia’s family emigrated from Laos, where they practiced the Hmong culture, which is different from the modern culture in the United States, leading to a clash in epistemologies between the parents and the medical staff in the hospital.

The Campinha Bacote Model is founded upon the principles of cultural humility and competence in the delivery of healthcare services aimed at creating a synergetic relationship between patients and the medical staff (Fitzgerald & Campinha-Bacote, 2019).

One of the nursing interventions that would have promoted culturally competent care for Lisa Lee and her family would have been cultural awareness of the practitioners at the hospital. If those nurses had information on the customs and cultures of the Hmong people, then it would have been easier for them to explain why they needed to give their child the medicine and why some of the practices like sacrifices could not be allowed in the hospital premises. When the nurses have this information, it is easier to provide comfort and respect the patient’s values (Albougami et al., 2016).

The other intervention is the medical personnel needed to develop a cultural skill set around communicating with the family on the medical terms. The medical term epilepsy in Hmong is translated to when the spirit catches you, and you fall, which would cause panic to the parents, no doubt.