Seeking to improve the faculty members' capabilities, and enhance their experience in various public health fields, UQU College of Public Health held an academic lecture on "Cultural Health Assessment", on Monday 21/06/1438 A.H. correspondent to 20 March 2017, presented by public health professor Dr. Yahia Ahmed Raja'. The lecture was graced by Dean Dr. Wahib Al Harby, supervisors of departments, along with a number faculty members.

At the beginning, Dr. Raja' defined culture as a social behavior, an outcome of human society, and the individual as the output of his cultural environment. "Broadly, culture covers customs, beliefs, religion, morals, arts, capabilities and acquired skills. Individuals can also acquire cultures different from their indigenous ones.", stressed Dr. Raja'.
He added, "Cultural health assessment is vital due to the direct impact of culture on health. Culture affects several perceptions as to health, sickness, death, beliefs about causes of sickness, means to enhance health, feelings of sickness and pain, how to express them, as well as the types of medications preferred by patients. Likewise, both health professionals and patients are affected by their cultures respectively. Even the health system can be a good record of prevalent beliefs in dominant cultures. The pace of cultural development fluctuates, mainly when some of its members migrate to new cultural settings, then have them integrated in their indigenous cultures. Culture also features two ways of thinking, namely: collective or individual. Hence, identifying the difference can help health professionals diagnose disease and prescribe the right medication."

In addition, he noted that cultural health assessment is vital in various aspects, including the professionals' relationship with patients; whether they lead or follow, the relation of a physician to a nurse, the family's role in hospitalization in terms of support, food, medicines and other things  provided by family, friends and neighbors, dominance over health decisions by husband, wife or in-laws, as well as modes of eye contact, nutrition practices, engagement and expressing pain, traditions observed in death and burial, infant feeding, child rearing and vaccination.

At the end, participants had discussions with the lecturer on several issues, including the cultural differences as to the concept of health and its determinants in Arab, Islamic and Western societies, the impact of culture on one's behavior to secure health care and home care. They also elaborated on some cultural terms, such as sensitivity, adaptation and immersion in dominant cultures mainly in Arab and Islamic societies, the influence of Western cultures on them, the individual role in controlling such influence, as well as the phenomenon of playing patients.