Perspectives of cultural competence in health care.

Full Abstract

AIM: The aim of this study was to explore the views of one group of healthcare professionals on the importance of cultural awareness in healthcare practice. METHOD: A qualitative approach was used. Ten nurses of varying age from two counties in Scotland who worked across a range of clinical practice areas were interviewed. The interviews were largely unstructured but included an opening question and prompts for the interviewer FINDINGS: A lack of knowledge and understanding was demonstrated by the participants in relation to the diverse cultural groups who constitute the population of this country, and a gap in nurse education and training provision across a range of healthcare areas. CONCLUSION: Nursing curricula need to include more knowledge and learning about cultural awareness, and nurses need more practical experience of caring for patients from different cultures. The findings assisted in the development of a framework for nurse education that embraces the concept of cultural competency.

Author information

Author/s: Leishman, June (J);

Affiliation: School of Social and Health Sciences, University of Abertay Dundee, Dundee. j.leishman(-atsign-)abertay.ac.uk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Nursing standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain) : 1987) (Nurs Stand), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2004 Nov 24-30; vol 19 (issue 11) : pp 33-8

Dates: Created 2004/12/23; Completed 2005/02/01;

PMID: 15615170, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

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