Filipino-American Culture

Words: 1229
Pages: 5

Filipino-Americans associate either with past-time orientation or present-time orientation (Giger, 2013). Past-time orientation refers to an individual who perceives human nature as evil and for “real good” to occur one must be disciplined through good self-control (Giger, 2013, p. 412). Conversely, those who associate with present-time orientation perceive human nature as more of a combination of good and evil (Giger, 2013). Another aspect of time that Filipino-Americans live by is social and business time (Giger, 2013). Giger (2013) describes their social time as “Filipino time,” which means they are not concerned if events do not start at the planned time (p. 413). Business time is just as important to the Filipino-American culture as social …show more content…
This space preference could be due to their immigration history. Upon immigration to the United States, an immense majority of Filipino’s lived in overpopulated cities where families were in close quarters (Giger, 2013). Perhaps this could be part of the reason why Filipino-Americans have such strong family bonds. With Filipino-Americans being a family oriented culture, nurses need to acknowledge that the whole family (including extended family) may be present at their patient’s bedside (Giger, 2013). Incorporating the family into the care and decision making of their loved one, is valued in Filipino culture (Giger, 2013). The nurse should also be aware that Filipino-Americans are comfortable with limited space and may want to enclose their surroundings in a large room (Giger, …show more content…
For instance, they incorporate both hot and cold foods together in one meal disregarding the way in which it was prepared (Giger, 2013). Giger (2013) provided examples of beans as a hot food, and green vegetables as the cold food to illustrate this method (Giger, 2013). Some Filipino’s use imitative magic during the process of food preparation, such as a pregnant woman consuming prunes to create a dark skinned offspring (Giger, 2013). During lent, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and possibly through the burial of relatives, Filipino’s of Catholic religion will refrain from consuming meat (Giger, 2013). Foods customarily ate in this culture are vegetables, rice, and fish (Giger, 2013). Common Filipino dishes eaten are pancit pasta, lupia, and adobo (Giger,