1. Chapter 5 Transcultural Nursing in the Community

2. The Meaning of Culture
Beliefs, values, and behavior shared by members of a society; they provide a design or roadmap for living
“The acquired knowledge that people use to generate behavior and interpret experience” (Spradley & McCurdy, 2005)
“A patterned behavioral response that develops over time as a result of imprinting the mind through social and religious structures and intellectual and artistic manifestations” (Giger & Davidhizar, 2002)

3. Other Key Terms
Race: biologically designated groups of people whose distinguishing features, such as skin color, are inherited
Ethnic group: collection of people who have common origins and a shared culture and identity; they may share a common geographic origin, race, language, religion, traditions, values, and food preferences (Spector, 2004)
Ethnicity: group of qualities that mark his or her association with a particular ethnic group or “who share cultural and/or physical characteristics including one or more of the following: history, political system, religion, language, geographical origin, traditions, myths, behaviors, foods, genetic similarities, and physical features (Ethnicity Online, 2007)

4. Other Key Terms (cont.)
Cultural diversity (cultural plurality): variety of cultural patterns coexisting within a designated geographic area
Subcultures:relatively large aggregates of people within a society sharing separate distinguishing characteristics
Microcultures: smaller groups within a subculture
Ethnocentrism: belief or feeling that one’s own culture is best
Ethnorelativism: seeing all behavior in a cultural context

5. Question Is the following statement true or false?
“Race” and “ethnicity” are interchangeable terms.

6. Answer
False
Race refers to biologically designated groups of people whose distinguishing features are inherited. Ethnicity refers to a group of qualities that mark a person’s association with a particular ethnic group or a group that shares cultural and/or physical characteristics.

8. Characteristics of Culture
Learned
Integrated
Shared
Mostly tacit
Dynamic

9. Ethnocultural Health Practices
World community
Biomedical view
Magicoreligious view
Holistic view
Folk medicine and home remedies
Herbalism
Prescription and over-the-counter drugs

10. Ethnocultural Health Practices (cont.)
Complementary therapies and self-care practices
Diet therapies (cancer diets, juice diets, fasting)
Gastrointestinal treatments (coffee enemas, high colonic enemas)
Balance and exercise activities (t’ai chi, yoga)
Sensory exposure (aromatherapy, music therapy, light therapy)
Therapeutic manipulation (acupuncture, acupressure, reflexology)

11. Role of the Community Health Nurse
Preparation
Cultural awareness (see Display 5.3)
Sensitivity
Assessment (use of appropriate tools; see Tables 5.7 and 5.8)
Teaching

12. Question Which of the following would describe a culture? Inherited
Static
Individualized
Tacit

13. Answer
d. Tacit
Culture is learned, integrated, shared, mostly tacit, and dynamic.

14. Selected Cultural Communities
Native American Indians, Aleut, and Eskimo communities
Population characteristics and culture
Health problems
Health beliefs and practices
Blacks or African Americans

15. Selected Cultural Communities (cont.)
Asian Americans
Population characteristics and culture
Health problems
Health beliefs and practices
Hispanic Americans

16. Selected Cultural Communities (cont.)
Arab populations and Muslims
Population characteristics and culture
Health problems
Health beliefs and practices

17. Transcultural Nursing Principles
Develop cultural self-awareness.
Cultivate cultural sensitivity.
Assess the client group’s culture.
Show respect and patience while learning about other cultures.
Examine culturally derived health practices.

18. Internet Resources
Office of Minority Health:
U.S. Census:
Immigration Assistance Section:
Culture and Diversity Section:
Kaiser Family Foundation:
Multicultural Health Communication Service:
Asian & Pacific Health:

19. Question Is the following statement true or false?
The first step of applying transcultural nursing principles is to cultivate cultural sensitivity.

20. Answer
False
The nurse should first develop cultural self- awareness and then cultivate cultural sensitivity.