by Jennifer Kowalewski

Studies have shown beta blockers and ACE inhibitors, commonly used to treat hypertension, may not be the proper course for many African Americans battling high blood pressure. Patients can have different interaction with pharmaceuticals, says Cora Muñoz, Ph.D. Physicians who want to be culturally competent must understand issues such as this in order to correct the health disparities that exist between majority and minority populations.

Muñoz, a professor of nursing at Capital University, will speak about cultural competence Wednesday, April 26, as part of the Minority Health Month lecture series, which is sponsored by the Center of Excellence for Multicultural Medicine and the Office of Student Affairs. Created April 1989 by mandate of the Ohio General Assembly, Minority Health Month is a 30-day, high visibility health promotion and disease prevention campaign.

Muñoz, a nationally and internationally known speaker, has given numerous scholarly presentations and workshops. She frequently consults on issues such as transcultural care, psychiatric/mental health, nutrition and health, and tobacco prevention education. She has received numerous awards, including the Ethelrine Shaw-Nickerson Award from the Ohio Nurses Association for outstanding contributions to the promotion of minority health and the Ohio Civil Rights Award for promoting the civil rights of citizens of Ohio.

She was recently reappointed by Ohio Gov. Bob Taft to a third term as a commissioner of the Ohio Commission on Minority Health and has served as vice chairwoman of this 18-member board. She will speak from noon to 1 p.m. in Irvine 194, the next to last guest speaker during a month dedicated to minority health issues.

Muñoz, who received her doctorate in counseling education at The Ohio State University, has focused her work on educating nurses and multicultural health care.

Medical students, she says, as the next generation of health-care providers, must understand how culture shapes the patients’ and their points-of-view.

“Physicians may be unintentionally biased,” Muñoz says. “This contributes to health disparities. I hope students realize it is imperative to understand race and culture when treating patients. We cannot ignore this.”

“Persons of color suffer from disease in disproportionately higher numbers and experience higher mortality rates for comparable illnesses (with whites). The goal of every health-care provider is to provide the highest quality of care. He or she won’t be able to do so without understanding the (cultural and health disparity) issues that impact health care,” she says.

She wants physicians to understand they may likely have to deal with patients whose “beliefs” are counter to their “knowledge.”

For instance, a patient may be part of a culture in which “magic is used to counter medical problems,” Muñoz says. In this situation, as others, a physician has to listen to his or her patients and build trust in order to better treat them.

The final speaker will be Ronald Myers, M.D., founder, president and medical director of Myers Foundation Christian Family Health Centers. Myers will present “The Challenge of Providing Health Care to the Poor” Friday, April 28.

Minority Health Month has played host to guest lecturers, including Transcultural C.A.R.E. Associates founder Josepha Campinha-Bacote, Ph.D., and Ohio University Associate Professors Eddith Dashiell, Ph.D., E. W. Scripps School of Journalism, and Richard Greenlee, Ph.D., Department of Social Work.