Cultural Practices Related to Illness and Death within the Hispanic Community

Most people use “Latino” and “Hispanic” interchangeably but they are different. While Hispanics are part of the Latino population, the term means people who come from Spanish speaking communities like Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Spain, and Central and South America living in the United States (Hatcher & Whittemore, 2007). Hispanics are the largest Latino community in the United States and as such they different cultural beliefs related to healthcare, treatment methods, as well as responses to illness and death. The Hispanic cultural beliefs on illness, dying, and death reflect the group’s values and religious faith. Hispanic Cultural Beliefs Related to Illness, Dying, and Death Issues that surround death and dying are often less medical or scientific but more related to cultural, social, ethical, legal, and spiritual concerns and as such these create a very complex situation whereby societal, familial, and individual perspectives take a key role (Boucher, 2016).The highest level of fam...