Cultural Diversity and Transcultural Nursing Theory

This report discusses the concept of cultural diversity in nursing and the application of transcultural nursing theory in practice. It explores the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its role in protecting the rights of patients. The report emphasizes the importance of culturally competent care in nursing.

Cultural Diversity using
theory of nursing practice
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Aspect of Diversity......................................................................................................................3
Trans-cultural nursing theory......................................................................................................3
Universal Declaration of Human Rights......................................................................................4
Implementation of theories into Nursing Practice - Culturally Competent Care........................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
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INTRODUCTION
Cultural diversity in nursing knowing the way to respond if an individual becomes violent
towards culture, religion, or gender. Cultural competency is essential in nursing as it help in
providing high quality care to patients and treating them with respect and dignity (Garneau, and
Pepin, 2015). This report covers transcultural theory and its use in in nursing practice. It also
includes the guidelines set out in Universal declaration of human Rights and nursing code of
conduct along with their application in understanding of diverse groups and theories and
guidelines to nursing practice.
MAIN BODY
Aspect of Diversity
Diversity involves various forces that make up a person involving culture, religion, age,
gender, social status, personality, sexual orientation etc. Cultural diversity can be stated as the
group of diverse people from distinct societies or cultures. In healthcare, diversity means
appreciating differences of people and treating their cultures, beliefs, values and lifestyles with
respect. Healthcare professionals with diverse backgrounds and cultures bring their unique
perspectives to share with patients and colleagues. This assist in enhancing the processes of
giving care and assist healthcare individuals to be more responsive and understanding to needs of
patient (Yoder-Wise, 2014).
Trans-cultural nursing theory
The Transcultural Nursing Theory was given by Madeleine Leininger that includes
understanding and knowing of different cultures associated with health illness caring practices
and nursing, values and beliefs with the aim to render efficacious and meaningful nursing care
services to individuals as per their health illness context and cultural values. This theory
emphasizes on the fact that distinct cultures have distant behaviour of caring and different illness
and health values, patterns of behaviour and beliefs. The worldview of cultural care flows into
knowledge regarding communities, groups, families, institutions and individuals in diverse
system of health care. This knowledge gives culturally specific expressions and meanings related
to Health and Care (Madeleine Leininger: Transcultural Nursing Theory, 2019).
The transcultural nursing is defined by the author as "a substantive study area and practice
emphasized on comparative cultural care beliefs, values as well as practices of groups or
individuals of same or distant cultures with the aim of rendering universal and culture specific
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practices of nursing care in promoting health and wellbeing or to assist individuals to face
illness, unfavourable human conditions or death in the ways which are culturally meaningful.
This theory consists of some major concepts including transcultural nursing, ethno nursing,
professional nursing care, nursing, health, human beings, cultural congruent care, society and
environment, worldview, environmental context, cultural and social structural dimensions,
culture, culture care diversity, culture care universality and culture care (Mareno, and Hart,
2014).
This theory or approach attempt to give culturally congruent care of nursing by cognitively
based assistive, facilitative, enabling or supportive decisions or acts which are tailor made in
order to fit with institution's, group's or individual's cultural beliefs, values and life ways. This
theory is mainly emphasizing in nursing care to have beneficial meaning as well as health
outcomes for individuals of similar or distinct background of culture. The theory emphasizes on
generic or folk system, nursing care and professional care system. Information regarding these
systems involves characteristics as well as particular care features of each which enable
culturally competent nurse for identification of differences and similarities or cultural care
diversity and cultural care universality. Proper execution of this theory help the nursing
professionals to take decisions and actions regarding nursing care which includes cultural care
accommodation or negotiation, cultural care prevention or maintenance and cultural care
structure restructuring for re patterning. By considering all these the nursing care is delivered
appropriately (Garneau and Pepin, 2015).
A culturally competent nurse requires self-awareness, cultural knowledge, awareness of
others, open attitude and cultural skills. It helps nurses and providing culturally competent care
to the people across distinct cultures and languages. It involves attitudes, knowledge and skills
which support caring of people. Culture not only impact the health practices, but also the way a
patient and healthcare provider perceive illness. The theory of Leininger is to render care
measures which are in harmony with the cultural beliefs, values and practices of individual and
group. Becoming aware of own tendencies and attitudes to stereotype with regard to distinct
cultural groups enable individual to give genuine concern and care (Almutairi, Gardner, and
McCarthy, 2014).
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The universal declaration of human rights can be defined as a milestone document in
human rights history. It was drafted by representatives with distinct cultural and legal
backgrounds from all the regions globally. The declaration was proclaimed through United
Nations General Assembly on 10th December 1948 in Paris as common standard of
accomplishment for all nations and all peoples. It set out the fundamental rights of humans to be
universally protected and has been translated into more than 500 languages (Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, 1948). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is
proclaim by the General Assembly as common standard of accomplishment for all Nations and
all peoples, to the and that each individual and society, keeping this declaration continually in
mind, shall strive through education and teaching in order to promote respect for these freedom
and rights and through progressive measures, international and national, to secure their affective
and universal observance and recognition, both among the individuals of member states
themselves as well as among the individuals of territories under their jurisdiction. In nursing
practice, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights plays crucial role in protecting the rights of
the individuals and development of friendly relations. Each individual is entitled to the freedoms
and rights set forth in the declaration regardless their culture, language, sex, political and other
opinion, religion, nationality, social origin, colour etc. At the time of providing care to the
patients, execution of this declaration helps in protecting their rights and freedom and treating
them with dignity and respect (Dayer-Berenson, 2014).
The codes of ethics have been developed for nursing profession and are relevant to all
nurses in their areas of practices involving those encompassing management, clinical, research
and education domains. The code of ethics for nurses in Australia outlines the commitment of
nursing to protect, promote, uphold and respect fundamental rights of individuals who are both
providers and recipients of Health and nursing care.
The code of ethics for nurses include:
 Nurses value diversity of people.
 They value high quality nursing care for all individuals.
 They value kindness and respect for self as well as others.
 Nurses value well-versed decision making.
 They value access to quality health care and nursing for all people.
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 Nurses value the culture of safety in health care and nursing.
 They value management of data or information in an ethical way.
 Nurses value an economically, ecologically, socially sustainable environment promoting
wellbeing and health.
The main purpose of these code of ethics is to determine the fundamental ethical values and
standards to which nursing professionals are committed and which are incorporated in another
endorsed professional standard of conduct and guidelines of nursing. In nursing practice, these
code of ethics are important as these render nursing professionals with point of reference from
which to reflect on conduct of others as well as themselves (Code of Ethics for Nurses in
Australia, 2005). These also guide them in ethical practice and decision making and indicate to
community the ethical values and human rights standards it can expect nursing professionals to
uphold.
Implementation of theories into Nursing Practice - Culturally Competent Care
As within each cultural group, wide range of traditions, beliefs and healing practices are
there, it is crucial to bridge professional and generic nursing care to render culturally congruent
care. In this, application of trans cultural nursing theory is significant. It is crucial for nurses or
nursing professionals to evaluate their own beliefs, traditions and values and aware of the fact
that others may share distinct beliefs, traditions and values. The theory of Leininger gifts 3 action
modes which nurses can utilise to bridge care and render care to individuals with respect to
individual cultural background, values and beliefs (Ray, 2016). The three modes of actions
include preservation and maintenance approach, re-patterning or restructuring and negotiation
and accommodation. The first mode includes choices which would preserve and maintain beliefs
and values. The negotiation and accommodation mode is assistive in adaptation and transaction
of care which is fit for culture of group, families or individuals. Re-patterning or restructuring
includes work with individuals in process of mutual decision making as the nurse alters the
nursing actions to accomplish better outcomes of health.
In nursing care, each of these modes are seen daily as nursing professionals become more in
tune with different cultural differences existing in world. While working in the role of Nursing,
assessing needs and cultural beliefs is an integral part of this role (Giger, and Haddad, 2020).
There are some principles that required to consider my nursing professionals for providing
culturally competent care. This includes valuing diversity, conducting cultural self-assessment,
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understanding dynamics of difference, institutionalizing cultural knowledge and adapting to
diversity. In the nursing practice, accepting and respecting differences within cultures is
necessary to provide effective care to the patients. In providing culturally competent care, the
role of interpreter is to speak exactly what has been set in other language. The main role of
interpreter is to become the voice of care provider in patient so that effective care can be
delivered (Xiao, Willis, and Jeffers, 2014).
CONCLUSION
As per the above mentioned report, it has been concluded that Cultural diversity in
healthcare is very necessary to provide effective care to the patients. It helps in providing person
centred care and treating each individual with dignity and respect. Universal declaration of
human Rights help in protecting the rights of both patients as well as care providers and the code
of conduct helps in providing high quality care to patients. In nursing care, application of
Transcultural Nursing Theory provides nurses with action modes that assist in delivering the care
to patients in an effective manner.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Garneau, A.B. and Pepin, J., 2015. A constructivist theoretical proposition of cultural
competence development in nursing. Nurse education today, 35(11), pp.1062-1068.
Yoder-Wise, P.S., 2014. Leading and managing in nursing-E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Mareno, N. and Hart, P.L., 2014. Cultural competency among nurses with undergraduate and
graduate degrees: Implications for nursing education. Nursing Education
Perspectives, 35(2), pp.83-88.
Garneau, A.B. and Pepin, J., 2015. Cultural competence: A constructivist definition. Journal of
Transcultural Nursing, 26(1), pp.9-15.
Almutairi, A.F., Gardner, G.E. and McCarthy, A., 2014. Practical guidance for the use of a
pattern‐matching technique in case‐study research: A case presentation. Nursing & health
sciences, 16(2), pp.239-244.
Dayer-Berenson, L., 2014. Cultural competencies for nurses: Impact on health and illness. Jones
& Bartlett Publishers.
Ray, M.A., 2016. Transcultural caring dynamics in nursing and health care. FA Davis.
Giger, J.N. and Haddad, L., 2020. Transcultural Nursing-E-Book: Assessment and Intervention.
Elsevier Health Sciences.
Long, T., 2014. Influence of international service-learning on nursing student self-efficacy
toward cultural competence. Journal of Nursing Education, 53(8), pp.474-478.
Xiao, L.D., Willis, E. and Jeffers, L., 2014. Factors affecting the integration of immigrant nurses
into the nursing workforce: A double hermeneutic study. International Journal of
Nursing Studies, 51(4), pp.640-653.
Online
Madeleine Leininger: Transcultural Nursing Theory, 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://nurseslabs.com/madeleine-leininger-transcultural-nursing-theory/#leininger
%e2%80%99s_transcultural_nursing_theory>
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/>
Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia, 2005. [Online]. Available through:
<file:///C:/Users/prouser/Downloads/5_New-Code-of-Ethics-for-Nurses-August-
2008.PDF>
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