CULTURE

In a multicultural country like Canada, culture can be an important determinant of health. Language differences, lack of experience with the health system, and different expectations can all affect your ability to get health treatment. They can also affect your feelings of control and your ability to take action to improve health.

Other cultural influences on health include discrimination because of ethnicity or "race" or some other prejudice. This can affect a person's ability to get meaningful work, to find housing or to get an education. Language and cultural differences can also isolate people, especially women and seniors, from the rest of the community.

What can you do?

Think about yourself or people you know who come from different cultures and then ask:

• What can I do to help people from different cultures get things that they need to be healthy?
• What can I do, as a member of a different culture, to take greater control of my health?

Think about the different cultural groups in your community and then ask:

• Does culture limit people's access to the things they need to be healthy?
• What can we do to lower or get rid of barriers for people from different cultures?
• How can we help people take greater control of their health?
• What can we learn about health from other cultures?