Question

What is transcultural nursing theory? What are its main concepts and assumptions? Critique the theory and how it can impact your role as an advance nurse.

Answer 1

Transcultural nursing theory

  Madeleine Leininger is considered as the founder of the theory of transcultural nursing.now it is developed as a discipline in nursing. it is a comparative study of cultures to understand similarities (culture universal) and difference (culture-specific) across human groups.It is also known as Culture Care Theory.It focuses on the fact that different cultures have different caring behaviors and different health and illness values, beliefs, and patterns of behaviors.Transcultural theory uses the concepts of culture, race, and ethnicity to understand human behavior.many concepts and subconcepts come under this.some are

Cultural and Social Structure Dimensions

Cultural and social structure dimensions are defined as involving the dynamic patterns and organizational factors of a particular culture which includes religious, social, political (and legal), economic, educational, technological and cultural values, how these factors may be interrelated and function to influence human behavior in different environmental conditions.

Ethnic identity

it refers to a subjective perspective of the person's heritage and to a sense of belonging to a group that is distinguishable from other groups.

Culturally competent care

it is the ability of the practitioner to bridge cultural gaps in caring, work with cultural differences and enable clients and families to achieve meaningful and supportive caring.

For a nurse to successfully provide care for a client of a different cultural or ethnic to background, effective intercultural communication must take place.

Health care provider need to be flexible in the design of programs, policies, and services to meet the needs and concerns of the culturally diverse population, groups that are likely to be encountered.

The use of traditional or alternate models of health care delivery is widely varied and may come into conflict with Western models of health care practice.

The health concepts held by many cultural groups may result in people choosing not to seek modern medical treatment procedures

Leininger mentioned five important assumptions.

• Care is the essence of nursing and a distinct, dominant, central, and unifying focus. Nurses provide care with sensitivity and compassion.
• Culturally based care (caring) is essential for well-being health, growth, survival, and in facing handicaps or death.
• Culturally based care is the most comprehensive, holistic, and particularistic means to know, explain, interpret, and predict beneficial congruent care practices.(Culturally competent nursing care is designed for a specific client, reflects the individual’s beliefs and values)
• Culturally based caring is essential to curing and healing, as there can be no curing without caring, although caring can occur without curing.(as mentioned a nurse should give priority to care)
• Culture care concepts, meanings, expressions, patterns, processes, and structural forms vary transculturally, with diversities (differences) and some commonalities.(nurse should be aware of cultural beliefs, cultural behaviors, and cultural differences )

Transcultural nursing is the ability to connect with people from different cultures and to bring those cultures together to improve their health. By developing a nurse's transcultural nursing skills, she  can educate, care for and support people of different cultures, even in the face of language barriers. it helps nurses to be aware of the ways in which the patient's culture and faith system provide resources for their experiences with illness, suffering, and even death. It helps nurses to be understanding and respectful of the diversity that is often very present in a nurse's patient load.