Hospital Cultural Competency and Attributes of Patient Safety Culture: A Study of U.S. Hospitals

Multicultural personality profiles and nursing student attitudes towards refugee healthcare workers: A national, multi-institutional cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Multicultural organizations in the era of globalization require intercultural leadership skills. Healthcare, as a sector serving diverse populations, necessitates culturally sensitive staff. Intercultural nurse education should start in undergraduate education. A tailored approach is needed, especially in the context of Poland's refugee crisis.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate how a multicultural personality profile and specific intercultural perspectives affect the attitudes of nursing students towards Ukrainian refugee background healthcare professionals.

DESIGN

A nationwide cross-sectional multicentre online survey study was conducted. The questionnaire was distributed with the aid of the Lime Survey web platform.

METHODS

The study utilized a Polish version of the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire. The questionnaire also included demographics and questions assessing intercultural competence and attitudes towards refugee medical professionals. K-Means Cluster Analysis was used to classify different patterns of multicultural personality. P-value <0.05 was deemed to be statistically significant.

PARTICIPANTS

The study sample consisted of 1325 undergraduate nursing students from 39 nursing schools in Poland: 54.0% in first year, 28.7% in second year, and 17.3% in third year. Most respondents were female (N = 1229, 90%).

RESULTS

Using cluster analysis respondents were categorized into four groups based on their level of three analyzed multicultural personality traits: cultural empathy, social initiative, and open-mindedness (high, low, average or mixed level). Statistical analysis demonstrated that personality profiles significantly affected nursing students' attitudes towards refugee health professionals (p = 0.003). Additionally, students' willingness to engage in intercultural communication classes and their belief in the learnability of intercultural competence also impacted their attitudes (p < 0.001 for both). Further analysis revealed correlations between personality profiles, belief in competency acquisition, and willingness to enhance competencies.

CONCLUSION

The design of intercultural competence education for undergraduate nursing students should be preceded by a mapping of the students' personality profile and a needs analysis in this regard, which may contribute to long-term effectiveness of such initiatives.

Reflections on the strategy of hospital development based on the characteristics of new hospitals

BACKGROUND

The disease spectrum is constantly changing, meaning patients' medical characteristics are complex and varied, and hospital operations are facing great challenges.

OBJECTIVE

To provide a basis for formulating relevant policies, promoting the continuous improvement of medical quality, improving the efficiency of medical services and proposing corresponding countermeasures.

METHODS

Information on the first page of the medical cases of patients discharged from 2020-2021 in the case management system of The Second People's Hospital of Zhangye City was collected, and statistical analysis was performed in terms of the origin, age, gender, occupation and main diagnosis of the patients. The database was established using Excel software, and statistical description was performed using SPSS 23.0 software, in which the main indicators were the number of cases and relative numbers (%).

RESULTS

The total number of inpatients in the hospital exhibited an overall upward trend, with the number in 2021 increasing by 40.53% compared with the previous year. Among them, 0.75% of the inpatients resided outside the province and 99.25% resided within the province. The proportion of inpatients within the city was 98.86%, including 85.50% in Ganzhou District and 14.5% in the five surrounding counties (districts). In 2021, the number of inpatients in the five surrounding districts increased by 60.67% compared with the previous year. The occupational structure of the inpatients was mainly farmers, accounting for 64.68%, which was higher than all other occupational groups, while public employees accounted for 17.9%. Inpatients aged 60 years and above accounted for 37.75%. In terms of disease spectrum ranking, circulatory, digestive, respiratory, injury and oncological system diseases ranked in the top five of the presented diseases, accounting for 64.47% of the total number of inpatients.

CONCLUSION

The patients of the new hospital are mainly elderly patients and local farmers. The hospital development should be based on the disease characteristics of this group, improving the diagnosis and treatment capacity of the departments and strengthening the capacity building of the hospital and the level of the medical services.

Cultural Competence and the Postoperative Experience: Pain Control and Rehabilitation

Healthcare inequities exist across healthcare and have been shown to influence patient care and outcomes. In the field of orthopaedic surgery, healthcare disparities have been shown to manifest in the realms of postoperative pain management and rehabilitation. Previous literature has demonstrated that socioeconomic status, sex, gender, race, and ethnicity influence postoperative pain management and can precipitate a negative patient experience, manifesting as poorly managed pain and undertreatment of minorities and patients of lower socioeconomic status. A similar body of literature has revealed similar barriers in postoperative rehabilitation, particularly with regard to accessibility, language, rapport, and culture. These disparities impact patients, ranging from diminished surgical satisfaction to postoperative morbidity. As the United States becomes increasingly diverse, cultural competence plays a major role in combating these disparities. This article presents methods to promote cultural competence, including greater diversity in the medical field, a greater emphasis on cultural competency in education and training programs at all levels of healthcare, increased resources allocated to researching healthcare inequities, and more effective mechanisms of patient education.

Culturally Aligned Health Care: Implications for Patient Care and the Nursing Profession

Professional nurses utilize person-centered/patient-centered models of care to provide meaningful and effective healing or promotion of wellness. Using their skills, knowledge, and expertise, nurses are poised to lead quality improvement efforts that enhance patient outcomes, reduce inequities among populations, and contain costs. Culturally aligned organizational models are built on key concepts of cultural competency, patient- and family-centered care, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging concepts. Nurses are poised to lead cultural alignment innovations across health-care professional teams, using their foundational skills to enhance quality and safety across the health-care spectrum.