Steps toward resolving cultural conflict in a pediatric hospital.

A serious and potentially life-threatening disease in a young child was identified and resolved through medical intervention. However, in the course of hospitalization, a conflict arose between the mother and the health care providers that required legal constraints on the mother. A retrospective account of this conflict between Western health care providers and a family from a Caribbean culture lends itself to an examination of the role of cultural considerations in pediatric hospital care. Suggestions for resolving cultural conflict in clinical practice are discussed.