Cultural Safety in Healthcare

Running head: CULTURAL SAFETY IN HEALTHCARE
Cultural Safety in Healthcare
Student’s Name
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CULTURAL SAFETY IN HEALTHCARE 1
Cultural Safety in Healthcare
Cultural beliefs, customs, and traditions have a significant impact on how people
understand health concepts. The belief that people have towards religion, social norms, and
practices can impact how they take care of their health, the decisions they make, and the
expectation they hold when seeking healthcare services from the practitioners. Cultural beliefs
vary from one community to another, making it necessary for healthcare providers to understand
these differences so that they can deliver holistic and culturally safe healthcare to patients. This
paper analyzes three cultural safety needs, how they differ from the Australian healthcare
models, and how registered nurses can respond to these differences to provide culturally safe
health care.
The Role of Families and Extended Family Members in Decision Making
Patients differ in terms of their beliefs and how they want to be treated and handled when
in the hands of the hands of healthcare providers. The concept of care of the Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people concept of healthcare views health as a traditionally holistic concept
involving the patient, family members and the community at large (Balkisha, 2018). For the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, health does not mean the physical well-being of an
individual. It encompasses emotional, social, and cultural wellbeing of the entire community. As
a result, the patient cannot make independent decision without consulting extended family
members as discussed in the publication of Queensland Government (2017). Any decision on the
health of the patient should, therefore, promote the health of the patient as an individual and the
moral well-being of the entire society. The individual need of the patient in the urban setting will
also be different from that of the people in remote and rural areas.

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The differences that exist between the Australian policies and model of approach to
health care and that of the aboriginals determine how each person responds to healthcare needs
and cultural safety of the patient. The decision-making process on matters of health in the
Australian and western healthcare settings encourage patient autonomy in decision making.
Berlinger (2017) defines patient autonomy as the right of the patient to make independent
decisions without influence from the healthcare provider. This model of care can cause moral
stress and dilemma for healthcare providers that believe that they have a role of alleviating pain
and suffering in the patient. According to Conway, Tsourtos, and & Lawn (2017), these
differences can be barriers or facilitators in the delivery of the healthcare. The western concept of
healthcare views the patient as an independent person that can make decisions without
necessarily involving the family of the person. For instance, it may be difficult for the registered
nurse to withdraw life support machine from the patient even when the patient requests to die in
dignity. This is because life is viewed as a communal aspect and the physician may be sued for
murder even when he adhered to the autonomy of the patient.
Respect for cultures and patients can play a significant role in alleviating moral distress
and enhancing culturally safe healthcare when handling aboriginal patients. Some patients may
develop distrust and suspicion in healthcare when they feel that the registered nurse does not
respect their culture. According to Cultural Ways (2017), it is important that the registered nurse
respects the culture of the patient and treats each patient as an individual to avoid stereotyping
errors. This is mainly possible when one wins the trust and confidence of the patient. Lili (2017)
explains that registered nurses should be aware of the variation in cultural beliefs to avoid
generalizations when administering healthcare. For instance, even though the western and
Australian concept of care encourages patient autonomy, it is crucial that the health care provider

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cultivates an environment of understanding the patient before making decisions regarding the
health status of the patient. If the culture places an emphasis on the family priority on making
decisions, the registered nurse should create an environment that supports family intervention so
that he can deliver culturally safe health care to the patient. In societies like that of the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people where health is considered a holistic concept, the
family of the patient will feel emotionally safe when it is involved in the decision making on
health of the patient. In cases where the registered nurse does not understand the culture of the
patient, it is important to consult and have full information before making decisions on how to
help the patient.
Religious Belief and the Meaning of Life and Death
Different cultures and communities hold varying beliefs about life and death. These
beliefs are shaped by religion or traditional beliefs about God as the supreme giver of life.
According to Wilson, Kelly, Magarey, Jones, and Mackean (2016), some communities like the
Hmong believe that it is only God who is the giver of life and one that knows when the person
will die. This implies that a registered nurse cannot inform the patient with terminal illness
about the death of the patient because it is only the giver of life that can take it away. As a result,
staunch religious believers will not embrace any idea about death or physician-assisted suicide
because only God can take life away. Davy and Kite (2017) further explain that some culture do
not entertain any news about potential death of a patient because they believe that only God
knows when each person will die. As a result, if a registered nurse reveals to the patient about
their imminent death from a terminal illness, then the physician can be accused of planning to
kill the patient.