Overcoming Language Barriers in Healthcare: A Cultural Perspective

Running head: NURSING ASSIGNMENT
NURSING ASSIGNMENT
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NURSING ASSIGNMENT1
Development and advancement in the healthcare facilities and interventions has
increased expectations from the healthcare process (Sarwar et al., 2016). Increased number of
patients with diverse cultural and ethnicity avails healthcare interventions in the healthcare
facilities and hence, it is the responsibility of the professionals working there to provide them
with effective and appropriate care by maintaining their diversity, dignity and respect
(Henderson et al., 2018). Cultural practices are such aspects that help the professionals to
maintain the above-mentioned aspects for the benefit of the patients involved (Gray et al.,
2017). Within these practices, language is one such practice which could help the
professionals to develop a rapport with the patients and this cultural practices would be
discussed in this document.
As mentioned in the research of Lundin, Hadziabdic and Hjelm (2018), language and
cultural barriers are few of the critical conditions of the healthcare condition that hinders the
communication process, as conversation between the nursing professional and the patient is
termed as the principal mode of conversation. Further, it was also mentioned that non-verbal
communication is a persuasive form of communication that is affected with culture and it is
the responsibility of the nursing professionals to address the hindrance that the linguistic
barrier brings in the care process (Bonaccio et al., 2016).
Hence, overcoming the language barriers to overcome the cultural differences could
protect the care service from miscommunication, which is one of the primary complications
of the culturally diverse patients (Sarwar et al., 2016). Including professionals with the ability
to speak languages other than English would be an effective strategy to overcome the
language barriers (Goldman & Trimmer, 2019). Further, providing the nursing and care
professionals with information about the language and cultural preferences of the patients
would be an effective strategy so that patients with those language preferences could
communicate to the nurses for their health education and information (Purnell, 2019). The