Describe the difference between culture and ethnicity
Even though the concepts of culture and ethnicity are commonly used together, it does not mean that they have a similar meaning. To be more precise, the research conducted by Desmet, Ortuno-Ortin, and Wacziarg (2016) showed that the ethnic fractionalization was not in any correlation with the fractionalization based on the cultural views and values. In other words, ethnic characteristics of societies and individuals do not define their cultural backgrounds. In a simpler manner, the difference between ethnicity and culture can be explained based on the meaning of each of these concepts. In particular, the ethnicity of a person refers to his or her racial affiliation and inherited genetic features. At the same time, one’s cultural belonging is comprised of his or her values, beliefs, and behavioral norms. Differently put, ethnicity is manifested primarily at a biological level, whereas culture dwells in the psychological and cognitive dimensions.
Describe the rationale and components of cultural care
In nursing, cultural care is highly important since most nursing professionals tend to encounter many diverse patients on a daily basis. As a result, there exists a set of norms and requirements for the nurses to match the standards of cultural competence. The delivery of culturally competent nursing care is also referred to as the transcultural nursing; this concept includes a wide range of aspects and factors related to the patients’ cultural backgrounds and beliefs that are connected to their notion and perceptions of well-being and health (Albougami, Pounds, & Alotaibi, 2016). The rationale of cultural care is to deliver meaningful and culturally congruent care of a high quality equal to the patients who come from the cultures similar to those of the nursing professionals or from the different ones (Albougami et al., 2016). Cultural care takes into consideration such components as heritage, cultural views and beliefs, race, ethnicity, and perceptions for the purpose of forming a deeper understanding of the patients’ behaviors and attitudes to illness and health.
Discuss areas of potential cultural conflicts between nurses and patients of different ethnic groups
The cultural conflicts may occur between nursing professionals and their patients. Generally, the contemporary nursing settings (especially in the Western countries) have become a multi-ethnic and multicultural environment due to the increased social diversity driven by the process of globalization (Van Keer, Deschepper, Francke, Huyghens, & Bilsen, 2015). The areas where the cultural conflicts may potentially arise include attitudes to self-management, understanding of health and illness, the role of the patients’ families as decision-makers, communication of needs by the patients, and perceptions of treatments. It is common that in some cultural communities certain approaches are deemed unacceptable and different methods are used as effective treatments. Also, in many cultures, reporting disease is perceived as a sign of weakness, and therefore many conditions tend to progress and remain untreated.
Evaluate the influence of religion/spirituality in health and illness perception
Religion and spirituality tend to have a rather strong impact on the perceptions of and attitudes to health and illness. In particular, many religious texts and spiritual teachings provide guidance for self-management and personal hygiene and also promote caring about one’s health (Koenig, 2012). At the same time, not all religion’s doctrines are based on the same visions of life, death, health, and illness. Most religions support the beliefs that originate from very old times and may no longer apply to the contemporary world and thus clash with the strategies used by modern medicine.
Determine how to apply Leininger’s transcultural theory to health assessment
Leininger’s transcultural theory views the appropriate approach to nursing care delivery as a multilayered process based on the holistic assessment of the patient with the inclusion of multiple dimensions and factors of his or her life and surroundings (Sagar, ). In other words, the assessment based on Leininger’s transcultural theory should begin with the assessment of the health problems reported by the patients and then cover all the other dimensions of their lives such as social, cultural, professional, ethnic, geographic, educational, and economic. Further, only taking into consideration all of these factors should the nursing professionals make conclusions, diagnose, and select treatments.
Describe a group classroom teaching strategy for discussing the impact of culture on health beliefs. Compare and contrast cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, and cultural competence
A group classroom teaching strategy could be based on made-up case studies with fictional patients coming from cultural backgrounds different from those of the group members. The members would be asked to act in a team and show their actions focusing on cultural awareness, sensitivity, and competence as nurses. In other words, different members would be assigned different roles and will be asked to show how they would treat a patient from the three perspectives. Culturally aware professionals would acknowledge the differences between the patient and attempt to promote the recommended care. Culturally sensitive nurses would attempt to adjust the recommended care to the cultural specificity of the patient. Culturally competent nurses would adopt the patient’s perspective and find the best care from the patient-centered point of view.
Research peer-reviewed literature and identify instructional strategies for developing cultural competence in students
Having reviewed multiple cultural competence curricula and courses for nurses, the scholars from Hanover Research (2014) noticed that some of the most commonly used and effective strategies are self-reflection and community discovery, review of case studies, and practical observation. In that way, cultural competence could be developed in nursing students through different levels of the encounter of multicultural environments. In addition, Loftin, Hartin, Branson, and Reyes (2013) emphasized the importance of emotional intelligence practices as the basis for cultural competence. The EI courses and curricula focused on self-reporting and self-analysis drive the development of critical thinking and objective judgment that are extremely important for the development of cultural competence.
References
Albougami, A. S., Pounds, K. G., & Alotaibi, J. S. (2016). Comparison of four cultural competence models in transcultural nursing: A discussion paper. International Archives of Nursing and Health Care, 2(3), 1-5.
Desmet, K., Ortuno-Ortin, I., & Wacziarg, R. (2016). Culture, ethnicity and diversity. Web.
Hanover Research. (2014). Strategies for building cultural competency. Web.
Koenig, H. G. (2012). Religion, spirituality, and health: The research and clinical implications. ISRN Psychiatry, 2012, 1-33.
Loftin, C., Hartin, V., Branson, M., & Reyes, H. (2013). Measures of cultural competence in nurses: An integrative review. The Scientific World Journal, 2013, 1-10.
Sagar, P. (2016). Transcultural nursing theory and models. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
Van Keer, R., Deschepper, R., Francke, A., Huyghens, L., & Bilsen, J. (2015). Conflicts between healthcare professionals and families of a multi-ethnic patient population during critical care: an ethnographic study. Critical Care, 19, 441.