Cultural Competency for Todays Nurse: What is Important? Alicia K. Ribar, PhD, CNP Clinical Associate Professor Interim Director MSN/DNP Programs University of South Carolina

I know we all hate it but maybe it will wake us up? Interactive Feedback What is culture? What is congruency? What is health? I know we all hate it but maybe it will wake us up?

What is Culture? Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving. WOW RIGHT?!?!?!

What is Cultural Competence? Cultural competence involves understanding and appropriately responding to the unique combination of cultural variables—including ability, age, beliefs, ethnicity, experience, gender, gender identity, linguistic background, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status—that the professional and client/patient bring to interactions.

Purpose This presentation is a summary of three larger studies that investigated the role of the nurse in promoting healthy eating, health norms and health beliefs across cultures. The purpose was to understand the meaning and cultural influences on health.

Rationale Ones cultures gives them a unique perspective and understanding of the meaning of health and how they perceive health delivery.

Leininger's Culture Care Theory The intent of the care is to fit with or have beneficial meaning and health outcomes for people of different or similar culture backgrounds. Care knowledge and skill are often repatterned for the best interest of the clients.  Madeleine Leininger recognized the importance of the element of caring in the profession of nursing. Through her observations while working as a nurse, she identified a lack of cultural and care knowledge as the missing component to a nurse's understanding of the many variations required in patient care to support compliance, healing, and wellness.

Significance for Nursing To provide a personal perspective of what it means and the held beliefs of health across cultures. Provides a basis for care that is pertinent and valued within the population. We all know that following good health practices is important for acquiring and maintaining good health. So why don’t we all do it? Could it be that a vital aspect of care delivery is missing? Perhaps we as the care providers need to adjust out thinking, and provide personal perspective of what health means and the held beliefs of health, If we can do this perhaps we can provide an improved basis for care that is pertinent and valued within the population. But how is it possible to understand and provide culturally component care to every pt. in every situation with the constraints as we know it. Without an understanding of healthy eating from a Mexican American child’s perspective, nurses may be unable to effectively provide care, because care may not be valued if it does not address beliefs held by the culture.

Questions for Thought? What are the cultural influences of health perceptions? What does health mean to each person individually and as a group? How do our own cultural beliefs affect our delivery of care?

Themes Health is typically framed in the context of culture. Culture is central to family and celebration. Health and care are typically valued when delivery is given in or by a trusted individual or entity.

Take Away Point Trust – nurses are some of the most trusted professionals in healthcare today. Establishing a trusting environment for our patients imporves health outcomes. None of this is new but a reaffirmation of knowledge that is inherent in all nurse.

Implications Theory – supports recent trends for improving cultural competence in healthcare. Education & Practice – opportunities for culturally congruent applications. Policy- opportunity to improve alignment of education policies and educational efforts.

References Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Basics about childhood obesity. Retrieved: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/basics.html Freedman, M.J., & Stern, J.S. (2004). The role of optimal healing environments in the management of childhood obesity. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 10, 231-244. Health Policy Tracking Service. (2008). Innovative health practices in schools. Health Promotion, 22, 223-228. Hessler, K., & Siegrist, M. (2012). Nurse Practitioner attitudes and treatment practices for childhood overweight: How do rural and urban practitioners differ? Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 24, 97-106. Larson, L., Mandleco, B., Williams, M., & Tiedeman, M. (2006). Childhood obesity: Prevention practices for nurse practitioners. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 18, 70-79. Purnell, L. (2016). Are we really measuring cultural competence? Nursing Science Quarterly, 29(2), 124 -127.

Questions and Discussion Thank You Questions and Discussion