When it comes to assessing our health, we must consider all constituents that play a role in our lives. This includes the sociological standpoint, which can be summed up in one word: intersectionality. Intersectionality refers to the innumerable factors that constitute an individual’s being, and how these factors intertwine with each other to build a sense of identity. In terms of healthcare, this can range from gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, disability status, and even religion and migration status. As we view healthcare from an intersectional standpoint, we are analyzing how these systems overlap and influence each other in the making of one’s experiences within the medical system. This not only includes a person’s face to face encounters in a clinical environment, but also considers the epigenetic and anthropological predispositions each and every one of us may face. 

Our health outcomes represent a summation of exposures we have faced on a personal level, as well as those bestowed upon us through our ancestors’ lifestyles. This accumulation of factors can predispose us to countless diseases, some widely known to be genetic, such as cancer or diabetes, and some more concealed, such as a predisposition to obesity due to prenatal exposures, such as famine or chemicals that disrupt our hormone activity.

As a member of the Chamorro-García Lab, I am gaining first hand experience in the field of biochemical and environmental toxicology research pertaining to how human health is impacted by environmental exposures – a factor that can be often overlooked due to the longevity required in order for its symptoms to manifest. This line of epigenetic investigation has impressed upon me the importance of assessing silent risk factors and predispositions that are out of our control. Beyond improving patient care on the physician level, this research also carries significant political implications. The efforts made by medical professionals have limitations in addressing health disparities, as they can often provide treatment, but not prevention. Actions must be taken on a legislative level to truly begin to counteract the systemic impacts on health outcomes across often marginalized communities. Research testifying to how environmental exposures can propagate across generations further incentivizes this call for political reform. 

Another facet of this cultural competence I cultivated through my experience in a Medical Spanish course I took at UC Santa Cruz, through which I gained insight on the varying views of health people may hold depending on their cultural background. For instance, a section of this course focused on the importance certain groups, specifically Spanish-speaking communities, place on natural practices and alternative medicine. In the United States, most people tend to hold a Westernized view of healthcare, uninformed of the treatment plans put forth by traditional medicine, often backed by a belief system that prioritizes this holistic approach. Studies have been conducted that show the mention of traditional medicine being negatively received in the clinic environment, and as a result patients feel less inclined to communicate openly with their own providers (Shelley 2009). Considering not only how vast the medical system is, but also how vastly attitudes toward it may differ, is pivotal in addressing health and nurturing an honest and efficient environment. 

This mastery of cultural understanding is the key that opens the door for exceptional and conscientious medical treatment. As healthcare providers, it is our duty to acknowledge the diverse range of experiences and identities our patients carry with them as they enter the clinic. This not only enhances our ability to appropriately cater to the unique medical needs of each individual patient, but also fosters a compassionate patient-physician relationship and understanding, which again reinforces the quality of care.