SPIRASI Cultural Profiles

This website is designed to give useful information and links on cultural profiles and health related information to health care providers working with members of a minority ethnic group. Sites are recommended on the basis of how helpful they might be to a busy health care provider who wishes to access introductory information about their client's country of origin. The links could also be of benefit to other service providers working with people from minority ethnic groups.

The information has been subdivided into the following categories:

• Countries
• Religions
• Special Interests
• Global Zones

The information given here, or on the recommended sites, should always be taken as a guide only. Your client is the person with the most appropriate and relevant information. This information is best used as a guide to initiate effective, relevant and timely communication with your client. It is extremely important to always guard against the tendency to stereotype members of a community. The facts presented on these websites refer generally to a population and should not be assumed to apply to all members of that population. Due to the dynamic nature of websites the information on the linked sites may not always be up to date so critical judgement is necessary at all times. Grateful thanks are given to all the members of minority ethnic communities in Ireland who shared information about their cultures and in doing so made this website possible.

Countries

The sites have all been graded with the symbol ۞ based on their usefulness and relevance to the topic being presented.

• One ۞ means the site has no specific information on health or health seeking practices.
• Two ۞۞ means the site will have limited health information.
• Three ۞۞۞ means the site has some information on health practices or important cultural information.
• Four ۞۞۞۞ means the site has information on health seeking practices and is a valuable resource.
• Five ۞۞۞۞۞ is the highest grade and is given to excellent sites that are specifically designed for health care providers, are easy to read, practical and current.

SPIRASI does not necessarily agree with the facts and opinions presented in this guide or any linked websites.

This Cultural Profiles web-site was designed to be fully compliant with modern standards for web publication (as specified by the W3C). The pages will be accessible and readable on any display using any web browser, old or new.