| |
Urmi Bhaumik, MBBS, MS, DSc, was born and raised in India, one of the most diverse continents in the world. Its citizens come from a range of social classes, speak dozens of languages, observe a multitude of traditions and practice various religions, so Bhaumik understands the importance of cultural sensitivity.
Prior to emigrating to the United States with her family in 1992, she worked as an OB/GYN in a bustling health clinic in Calcutta, providing prenatal care, immunizations and health education to about 35,000 patients. She cared for women from all walks of life—rich and poor, young and old—and each of them approached health care differently. For example, women of certain religions don’t believe in contraception, so Bhaumik had to make sure she explained birth control options in a culturally sensitive way that took their values into account. “Often, there was a perception that if a woman was taking contraception, she was having sexual relations with more than one man,” she explains. “Young women’s mothers-in-law were the biggest challenge. They wouldn’t support their daughters-in-law’s decisions to use it. However, things have changed over the years, and it’s more accepted now.”
When she first arrived to Boston, Bhaumik worked at the Boston Public Health Commission’s Healthy Start program, which finds health insurance for low-income, uninsured pregnant women. She was startled to learn of the high infant mortality rate among minorities in Boston—a city that boasts some of the best hospitals in the world. “I couldn’t believe that the infant mortality rate was so high and that there were such low rates of immunizations in urban communities,” she says. “I quickly realized just how big our health care challenges were going to be.”
Later, she joined Children’s Martha Eliot Health Center (MEHC) and helped manage an immunization tracking system. At MEHC, just as she had in India, Bhaumik witnessed rich ethnic diversity— Boston is one of the most multicultural cities in the country with more than 100 ethnicities represented in its neighborhoods and 140 languages spoken in its homes. Once again, she learned about the challenges that come with such a broad patient population. “Haitians, Cape Verdeans, African Americans, Puerto Ricans and Dominicans each have variations among their cultures,” she said. “And we need to really understand all these cultures in order to have better health care.”
Today, Bhaumik is the manager of evaluation for Community Health Programs in the Office of Child Advocacy (OCA), which oversees the hospital’s community outreach mission. She works with Children’s programs in asthma, injury prevention, mental health and nutrition and fitness to develop and conduct evaluation plans of these efforts. In her position with the OCA, Bhaumik encourages providers and case managers to be sensitive to the daily challenges that working-class families face—particularly during these difficult economic times. “A working mom has to juggle two jobs and has little time to cook a healthful home-cooked meal,” she says. “Nutritious foods are tough to find in some neighborhoods and they’re more expensive. That’s why many parents end up giving their children a few dollars so they can eat fast food. We’ve come a long way in understanding these challenges.”
However, she thinks that more work needs to be done in the broader health care system around cultural sensitivity issues. When she recently accompanied her ill mother to an area hospital emergency room, the doctor looked directly at Bhaumik and asked if her mother spoke English. After Hindi, English is the second most spoken language in India. “These sorts of assumptions leave a patient feeling disconnected and it often leads to impersonal care,” Bhaumik says. “Little things like this affect people’s perceptions and make them feel uncomfortable at hospitals.” But it’s instances like these that motivate her to make health care of Boston children even better.
| |
| |
