Running head: ASSYRIAN CULTURE

Assyrian Culture
Bobbie Chahal
California State University, Stanislaus

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Assyrian Culture
Jag is a 22 year old female who is a member of the same gym as I am. I knew she was
from the Assyrian culture and so I asked her if she would be willing to participate in an interview
that would explore her culture to help me learn how to cater nursing care for patients and family
belonging to the Assyrian culture. The interview took place on the 14th of October, 2013 in the
womens lounge at the In-Shape Fitness Club located on Prescott Rd., Modesto. Jags input will
be used to facilitate the discussion relating the beliefs, gender roles, health risk behaviors of the
Assyrian culture to nursing interventions, a standard of practice, and to assess communication
strategies used for the interview (Jag, personal communication, October 14, 2013).
12 DOMAINS
Larry Purnells (2002) 12 domains are used to guide the interview in order to explore the
Assyrian culture. The domain of communication focuses on language, dialect and
communication styles within the culture in focus (Purnell, 2002). There are a lot of Assyrians in
the Stanislaus County (where Jag lives) so the community has grown to understand the culture
pretty well. Jag does not think there are barriers to communicating except for a language barrier
if the Assyrian person does not speak English. According to Jag, the majority of Assyrians living
in America do understand English and can speak it fluently. Assyrian is the dominant language of
Jags culture, but depending on what region of the Middle East the Assyrian is from, he or she
might speak Farsi or Arabic. Jag places herself under the Assyrian dialect. There is no specific
format to Assyrian names other than the fact that the names are of Christian origin. There are no
customs in the naming of Assyrian offspring.
The domain of family roles and organization incorporates gender roles, family roles,
marriage, and sexual orientation (Purnell, 2002). The father is usually the head of the household.
In the Assyrian culture, women typically stay at home and take care of children while the men
work outside of the home. Jag reports that marriage is viewed as sacred and so divorce is

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frowned upon. When the spouse dies, the widowed spouse usually will not marry because this
person still grieves over the spouses death. Jag adds that this reluctance to remarry is mainly
present in the older generation. She also relates that it is rare and weird to hear any 50 year old or
older individual say he or she is dating. Jag reports that the Assyrian culture frowns upon
homosexuality and believe it is not normal.
The domain of cultural overview and heritage includes the cultures country of origin,
reasons for emigration, educational status, and occupations (Purnell, 2002). Jag comes from the
country of Iran. Jag describes the climate in the country consisting of hot temperatures with long
summer periods and cool winter seasons. She says Iran has a dry desert, hot mountains in the
North, and primarily deserts in the South and West. The land is fertile along the valleys.
Assyrians predominantly settle down in the Northern lands of the United States because to them,
this is the region of fertile land good climate. Assyrians do not move around a lot and typically
settle down wherever most of their family has settled. Assyrians come to the United States for
safety, opportunities, and a better quality of life. It has not been hard for Jag to adjust to
American since she was born here. However, she says for the first generation of immigrants, the
adjustment can be difficult because of the presence of an accent in their English and dealing with
people that might see them as foreigners even though they are now citizens of the country.
Another way the first generation struggles is by knowing some of their family and friends are
still struggling in the Middle East. Jag does not feel that she is put through any unfair treatment
relating to the culture she belongs to. However, she says that her parents and grandparents go
through a culture shock to this day because of the different and liberal lifestyle in America.
Education is extremely important in the Assyrian culture. In Jag's family, education is perceived
to be the root of success and the family believes that education begins in the home. Compared to

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the education system back home, Jag describes the education system in America as having better
resources (scholarships, tutors, after school programs, clubs for both genders, equal opportunities
for both genders, availability of education to elders). According to Jag, Assyrian people usually
become engineers in the U.S.
In the domain of workforce issues, components related to autonomy, acculturation, and
ethnic communication are the topics of interest (Purnell, 2002). Jag was born in America and is
currently an Accounts Specialist for an almond processing company. Jag enjoys being in the
almond industry because she appreciates that it is growing rapidly and there is so much to learn
in her field. She says she does not have a lot of autonomy in her job and dislikes sitting at a desk
for her entire workday because it is causing her to gain weight. Jag does not believe she has any
trouble with acculturation to the American lifestyle and believes that her father does not have
issues with the process of acculturation either. She reports that sometimes her father does talk
about stories surrounding culture shock from his workplace. Other than the occasional culture
shock, her family has successfully adopted American traditions such as going Black Friday
shopping, celebrating Thanksgiving, and even having family football nights with her family. Jag
describes the Assyrian communication style as being at close range, talking with gestures, and
having lots of facial expression variations along with head movement.
The domain of biocultural ecology revolves around ethnic origin related physical
appearance and common diseases (Purnell, 2002). According to Jag, Assyrians have light skin,
an abundance of body hair, slight dark coloring under the eyes, and noses that stand out. She
reports that cancer and heart problems are the debilitating health issues common in Assyrian
people.
The domain of high-risk behaviors incorporates drug use, activity levels, and health
hazard behaviors of a culture (Purnell, 2002). Jag describes heavy smoking and high stress levels
as being the most common hazardous activities common in the Assyrian culture. Jag considers

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Assyrian people to have a variation in activity levels because while many Assyrians enjoy going
for long walks around parks and neighborhoods, others choose to remain sedentary at home
either focused around television or upon having gatherings around tea. She believes that the
Assyrian people do not have issues with following safety rules such as seatbelt use and helmet
use.
The domain of nutrition explores a cultures food (Purnell, 2002). Assyrians in the region
enjoy an abundance of food. They enjoy cooking for large gatherings and view food as a means
of gathering friends and family to build stronger ties with one another. Jag reports that Assyrians
often use food to celebrate, pacify, and console each other. When someone passes away, sweets
are not to be eaten. During Lent, there is no meat allowed in the diet. Rice, stew, and lots of
vegetables are common foods in the Assyrian diet.
The domain of pregnancy and childrearing practices correlates with the cultures views
towards pregnancy, any restrictive or taboo practices related to pregnancy, and postpartum
treatment (Purnell, 2002). Jag describes that Assyrians view pregnancy as a joyous time in which
the woman must receive nurturing to ensure the baby (viewed as a blessing from God) comes to
the world in a loving and healthy environment. When a woman gets pregnant, she is not to leave
the house thirty to forty days before birth. From this restrictive period to the postpartum period,
the family will usually have a nurse at home along with extended family that comes to help. Jag
reports that birth control is strictly forbidden because abortion is against the Assyrians' Catholic
beliefs.
The domain of death rituals focuses on the cultural death rituals, and bereavement
behaviors (Purnell, 2002). Jag describes the Assyrian practices related to the dying. If someone is
at the point of death, the priest is called in to give holy bread and to pray for the dying individual.
After the priest gives a benediction, relatives and close neighbors accompany the dying person
during the last moments. When there is a death, the Assyrian mourn deeply. Families and older

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women wear black during the mourning period until someone brings over colored clothing to the
house. She says that this is a serious time for the Assyrians and so others should be sensitive of
the importance of mourning in the culture.
The domain of spirituality explores the religious practices, use of prayer, and individual
sources of strength of a culture. According to Jag, Assyrians are Catholic/Christians. They rely
heavily on prayer in everyday life and major life events. She describes deep belief in the power
of prayer and spirituality. Being from the Christian/Catholic religion, an Assyrian's meaning of
life is to be a devout Christian/Catholic. Because of the value places upon spirituality, Jag thinks
that Assyrians often become frustrated with the rules in hospitals related to visitors.
The domain of health care practice includes a cultures beliefs regarding health practices
and beliefs. Stress is believed to be the primary cause of susceptibility to illness. People of this
culture believe that leaving the window open, wet hair, sleeping with socks on cause sickness.
Jag's family uses a traditional remedy for an upset stomach by using Numee Basra, which is a
dried lime. In comparison with other people her age, Jag rates her health as being good. She does
not like to worry about getting sick because to her, that is allowing weakness and increasing
susceptibility to become sick due to the stress and worrying. If Jag were to get sick, the effects
on her life would not be burdensome because she has no children, lives with her family, and does
not have any dependent people to provide for. She would, however, take time off work and lose
the pay for the resulting missed work time. Jag is not under any medical treatment, but admits
that diet, exercise, and healthy habits are crucial for health maintenance. She has no barriers to
health care. She has a car that only she drives, and her doctor's office recently started allowing
appointments before 8 a.m. to accommodate those that start work or school in the morning. She
starts work at 8 a.m. so now scheduling any future appointments would not interfere with her
work schedule. Jag does not think it takes too long to be able to see her health care provider.

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The health care practitioner is the domain revolving around the perception of healthcare
providers. Assyrians value both the traditional remedies and western medicine. Health care
professionals are viewed as intelligent, noble, respected, and honorable. Gender does not make a
difference to the Assyrian people as long as the doctor is a knowledgeable one.
3 Cultural Interventions
Based on Jags input, relevant nursing interventions and a standard of practice can be
adopted to guide nursing care of the Assyrian population. The Assyrian people believe strongly
in the power of prayer and so it will be common to see many family and friends congregating to
pray in a patients room or waiting rooms. In order to accommodate the patient and his or her
visitors, I can provide an agreed upon uninterrupted period of time so that they can pray without
intrusion. I can accommodate them by providing cluster care and posting signs outside the door
to let staff know there is praying in session and to knock before entering (Wehbe, 2008).
Assyrians do not wear colorful clothing when their family or friends are going through a time of
mourning or dying. To accommodate their time for mourning, I can focus on maintaining my
nonverbal communication style to a solemn one and by taking off any accessories on my uniform
that might be too cheerful to prevent offending their specific style of mourning (Wehbe, 2008).
The Assyrian culture forbids the ingestion of sweets when someone passes away. To preserve this
restriction, I can let the dietary department know to not send desserts in the meal tray if the
patient or family who is purchasing a meal tray refuse the dessert upon my asking of whether or
not they would prefer sweets being omitted from their meal (Wehbe, 2008). Standard three from
the Transcultural Nursing Standards of Practice is most applicable to the accommodations
discussed relating to culturally competent nursing interventions. Standard three dictates that
nurses should learn about diverse cultures to help them empower the culture group to reach
better health and well-being (Douglas, 2011).

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Communication Experience
The interview with Jag not only imparted valuable information about the Assyrian
culture, but it also helped me evaluate my style of asking questions to obtain personal
information, identify verbal and nonverbal differences between Jag and I, and highlight effective
communication techniques that I can incorporate into my nursing care. I learned that whenever I
talked about religious restrictions such as the frowning upon homosexuality or abortion, she
became cautious. I think whenever a patient is not feeling comfortable or is feeling offended by
me, he or she too might adopt this passive behavior. I also learned that if I asked questions too
fast, Jag gave shorter replies. This might be related to her thinking these questions having less
value than the others. I can really focus on giving my full attention and letting my patients know
that I am not there to judge and be an outsider and that instead, my role in their care is to be a
member of their team to help them improve their feelings of wellness.
The interview with Jag provided an abundance of insight into how the Assyrian people
perceive death, pregnancy, marriage, sickness, health care professionals, food, and spirituality. In
my opinion, the most important information I learned was about the Assyrian mourning and
spiritual practices. I believe that it can be quite easy to ask a patient about his or her preference
of food, views on marriage, health care professionals, and pregnancy. However, mourning and
spirituality are two sensitive subjects and cultural components that can either make or break my
relationship with my patients. My goal for nursing is not just to take care of my patients physical
body, but to be able to nurture them, support them, empower them, and to understand them
enough so that they leave the hospital feeling renewed physically and with a renewed perspective
on a proactive approach to maintaining good health. Knowing how to facilitate Assyrian
mourning and Assyrian spirituality gives me an advantage and head start to becoming a great

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nurse for this culture group because what I might not have learned through clinical experience, I
have learned from an interview.

References
Douglas, M. J., Pierce, J. U., Rosenkoetter, M., Pacquiao, D., Callister, L. C., Hattar-Pollara, M.,
Lauderdale, J., Purnell, L. (2011). Standards of practice for culturally competent nursing
care: 2011 update. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 22, 317-333. doi:
10.1177/1043659611412965
Purnell, L. (2002). The Purnell Model for Cultural Competence. Journal of Transcultural
Nursing, 13(3), 193-196. doi: 10.1177/10459602013003006

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Wehbe-Alamah, H. (2008). Bridging Generic and Professional Care Practices for Muslim
Patients Through Use of Leiningers Cultural Care Modes. Contemporary Nurse, 28(1-2),
83-97.