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Culturally Competent Care, Article Writing Example

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What is culturally competent care?

Culturally competent care relates to interventions performed based on considerations of a person’s cultural disposition (Kersey – Matusiak, G. (2012). For example, an African American person entering a health care institution or service would expect to interaction would be consistent with his/her beliefs. Besides, there are certain health conditions which predominate among persons wsith this ethnicity a health care provider ought to account for these features if culturally competent care is executed. Essentially, assessment, diagnosis, interventions and evaluation must be conducted from the perspective of the client’s culture.

Models of cultural competency.

Several models of cultural competency have been identified in the article. One model is classified the process of cultural competence in delivery of healthcare. In this model the nurse is expected to evaluate themselves using five criteria namely awareness, skill, knowledge, encounters and desire (ASKED). This model forces the nurse to first become aware of personal cultural biases/prejudices. Also acknowledging personal communication skills/abilities and information known about other cultures must be embraced. Subsequently, the nurse must be willing to engage with people of diverse cultures in an appreciative manner. Ultimately, the dersire to learn and accommodate other cultures must become a part of the professional function (Andrews & Boyle, 2008).

Another often utilized within the profession relates to Purnel model of cultural competence whereby competences along with their domains are represented in a circular fashion. Nurses apply these twelve domains identified in the model with evaluating their cultural competences as well as the diversity of their clients/patients (Purnel & Paulanka. 2009). Another important model is one espoused by Gelger and Davidhizer. It is known as the Trans Cultural Assessment Model. Six determinant features are evaluated in this model. They are biological variations; environmental control, time, communication; social organization and space (Gelger, J & Davidhizar, 2008).

Spector’s Health Traditions Model has also been applied in assessing cultural competence accounts for a continuum of cultural behavior patterns among clients/patients. The model assesses the impact of tradition on culture as well as evidence of acculturation in individuals and groups (Kersey – Matusiak, 2012).

Examples of patient care plans based on cultural assessment.

A patient’s care plan based on cultural Assessment would first entail gathering data pertaining to his/her culture and selecting a model. In this case Gelger and Davidhizer’s (2009) Trans- Cultural Assessment Model.

Dimension	Assessment	Intervention
Communication	Spanish speaking client with limited English literacy	Get the services of an interpreter for this client
Space	Patient expresses being comfortable with others in his close proximity	Place patient in an environment where other patients are close enough to provide safety/security
Biological variations	Patient is Puerto Rican with family history of type 2 diabetes, but likes to eat foods rich in sugar and fats	Patient is educated in native language about preventing type 2 diabetes. Literature in Spanish is also offered to the client about healthy diets.
Environmental control	Client relies aon folk medicine and God for healing; very reluctant to seek medical advice from modern scientific healthcare practitioners	Adjust care to coincide with beliefs of client
Time	Very focused on the now, procrastinates	Support in panning for discharge offered
Social orientation	Hispanic with excellent social support from family and friends	Validate soial orientation strengths and encourage patient to maintain them.

What healthcare providers can do to develop cultural competency

They can engage in two significant activities in creating cultural competence. First learning about as many cultures as possible and models of cultural care recommended by theorists. The second activity is training nurses/healthcare poviders who are less competent to devlopthe skills and expertise (Kersey – Matusiak, G. 2012).

References

Andrews, M., & Boyle, J. (2008). Transcultural concepts in nursing care. Philadelphia. Williams & Wilkins

Gelger, J., & Davidhizar, R. (2008). Transcultural Nursing; Assessment and Interventions ( 3^rded). Elsevier Mosby

Kersey – Matusiak, G. (2012). Culturally Competent Care: Are we there yet? Nursing PDF

Purnel, L., & Paulanka. (2009). A guide to culturally competent health care (2^nd ed). Philadelphia. F.A Davis.