What should the nurse, who is caring for an American Indian woman seeking help to regulate her diabetes, anticipate or expect of the patient?

A) Will comply with the treatment prescribed
B) Has given up her belief in naturalistic causes of disease
C) May also be seeking the assistance of a shaman or medicine man
D) Will need extra help in dealing with her illness and may be experiencing a crisis of faith

Members of the American Indian culture often seek the care of a shaman or medicine man in addition to help from Western medicine. Some, such as those of Mexican-American or American Indian origins, may believe that the cure is incomplete unless the body, mind, and spirit are also healed (although the division of the person into parts is a Western concept). Oftentimes patients of a different culture, especially if there is a language barrier, do not comply with prescribed treatments. Seeking the care of a biomedical or scientific health care provider does not mean the patient has given up her belief in naturalistic causes of disease as they often seek the care of folk healing to complement the biomedical treatment. American Indians typically believe the naturalistic view of illness, not the magicoreligious theory, so the nurse should not anticipate that the patient is having a crisis of faith.