A Transdisciplinary, Transcultural Model for Health Care

Cultural Distress: An Emerging Paradigm

Although cultural competence in practice is a common goal within the health care professions, little is known about the consequences of a lack of such competence in health and healing. We propose a novel theoretical framework of cultural distress to describe patient experiences of and reactions to care that does not incorporate attention to cultural needs. Use of the cultural distress model to guide research offers an innovative framework by which researchers may identify potential interventions such that patients never reach a level of cultural distress.

Advances in Conceptualization of Cultural Care and Cultural Competence in Nursing: An Initial Assessment

This article reviews advances in conceptualization of cultural care and cultural competence in the nursing literature. First, three evaluative criteria are set forth (i.e., practice, education, and research). Second, the published conceptualizations of cultural care and cultural competence are assessed based on the three criteria. The review suggests that conceptualizations of cultural care and cultural competence have made noted progress in the past few decades both in quantitative and qualitative terms. Based on this initial assessment, areas for further development are suggested to facilitate the continued advances in conceptualization of cultural care and cultural competence in the future.

Teaching methods and an outcome tool for measuring cultural sensitivity in undergraduate nursing students

A major challenge facing the nursing profession is to educate and assist nurses to develop the skills to provide culturally relevant care. This article describes one school's multicultural curriculum for baccalaureate nursing students and a tool to measure changes in behaviors and attitudes. The article presents the psychometric properties of the Cross-Cultural Evaluation Tool that yields a cross-cultural interaction score. Successful teaching strategies are presented that are substantiated by increased student cross-cultural interaction score scores.

What has the literature taught us about culturally competent care of women and children

This article describes what is currently in the literature about culturally competent care for women and children. With the population of the United States growing increasingly diverse, there is a developing need for cultural competency among nurses and throughout healthcare organizations. Cultural competence includes both culture-specific and culture-generic knowledge, attitudes, and skills. While databased literature on cultural competency still requires further development, we do have evidence of positive outcomes of culturally competent care. The end result of the provision of culturally competent care by culturally competent nurses and healthcare organizations can be significant improvements in the health and well-being of women and children.