Application of the Nursing Process to Deliver Culturally Competent Care (Research Paper Sample)

Application of the Nursing Process to Deliver Culturally Competent Care Students Name: School Affiliation: Abstract The Latinos are America’s fastest-growing minority group and accounts for 15% of the US population. However, a significant portion of the group still lacks healthcare due to varied reasons. Some of the reasons are cultural and there is need to address them from the same perspective. Findings: at least 20% of Latinos do not have a usual healthcare provide. Some ignore the need for the services citing cultural beliefs. Methods: using the Giger and Davidhizar theory, anurse can help Latinos experience better healthcare outcomes Recommendations: nurses ought to employ the Giger and Davidhizar theory to offer culturally competent care. 1.0 Introduction The healthcare arena plays a critical role of handling health-related concerns for people from various cultural groups. Every medical practitioner strives to offer these services to all people irrespective of their cultural backgrounds. However, the healthcare needs of some cultural groups remain unaddressed mainly to cultural-related differences, beliefs, and attitudes. Many cultural theories and models meant to guide how nursing process ought to take place have been developed and popularized. The following discussion incorporates Giger and Davidhizar theory in discussing the healthcare needs of the Latinos. 1.1 Background The Latino group has been identified as the fastest-growing minority group in the US where it accounts for 15% of the US population. It is further expected that the population will have grown to 29% by 2050 (Livingston, Minushkin, & Cohn, 2008). Concerning the group’s healthcare needs, statistics show a disparity whereby many still lack the access to healthcare. Apparently, 30% of foreign-born Latinos lack a usual healthcare provider compared to 22% of those born in the US that lack similar services. A further 32% of Latinos whose main language is Spanish do not have a provider compared to 22% of the same group with English proficiency. Still, 49% of the Latinos that have lived in the US for a period not exceeding five years do not have a healthcare provider compared with 21% of the same that have lived here for at least 15 years). Though the Latinos have a lower prevalence of chronic conditions than other US population, the group’s diabetes and obesity prevalence remain higher than other groups (Livingston et al., 2008). A significant portion of Latinos access health-related information from various sources including the internet, television, and newspaper. Surprisingly, over one-fourth of Latinos report that they do not have access to health information especially from medical practitioners. Interestingly, high school graduates lack a usual place for medical care but their reasons are somewhat ironic. In the study, Livingston et al., (2008) reported that 45% of the students are insured but hardly seek medical care. Upon further inquiry, many responded that their reasons for not seeking medical care were that they hardly feel sick. 2.0 Applying the Giger and Davidhizar theory The model has six dimensions that seek to tackle various cultural areas. The dimensions include communication, social organizations, space, biological variations, and environmental control. The model argues that nurses ought to recognize and appreciate the cultural differences, values, customs, and beliefs exhibited by patients. To offer relevant and effective healthcare services, the model opines that nurses need to possess skills and knowledge in cultural competency. Essentially, a culturally competent nurse ought to help patients to access satisfactory healthcare and ensure positive outcomes (Giger, 2011). The model’s position is that every individual is culturally unique and ought to be handled as such. It, therefore, advocates nurses ought to help patients as per the latter’s culture without bias. 2.1 Communication Nurses using the Giger and Davidhizar model to help the Latinos need to understand how communication works in the sharing of information. According to this model, communication in culturally competent care is imperative and leads to the sharing of information, ideas, and feelings between the nurse and the patient. Communication is often characterized by the use of touch, tone, rhythm, and body posture (Giger, 2011). Thus, a nurse needs to understand how a Latino communicates using these elements and respond accordingly. As seen earlier, most Latinos avoid seeking medical care not due to cost but as a result of a culture. Therefore, a nurse needs communicate with such a patient without sounding prejudicial. At this stage, the nurse will obtain all the information from a Latino and use it to help the patient. 2.2 Space In the Giger and Davidhizar model, Space dimension entails the intimacy and distance techniques applied when verbally and nonverbally communicating with others. While communicating with patients, nurses need to be aware of the interpersonal space. Space includes personal, intimate, public, and social and consultative. A nurse has to know Latinos’ territoriality which is a feeling toward a personal area. A violation of a patient’s intimate and personal space can lead to discomfort and result in the patient abandoning treatment (Giger, 2011). While helping a Latino patient who might be suffering from diabetes, the nurse will need to know the space and offer relevant assistance. A nurse can avoid the violation by communicating with the patient without mentioning the latter’s cultural habits and beliefs that might be perceived as intrusive and offensive. 2.3 Social organization In this model, Social organization entails the manner in which a particular cultural group organizes itself in the area of the family group. In some groups, the family group remains the most influential social organization and change emanating from this area is strong. Social organization in the area of family deals with religious beliefs, structure and organization, values, and role assignments in a cultural group (Giger, 2011). In case such groups hold religious beliefs, it embraces the trend as a culture, treats senior family members with respect. In the case Latinos, many still hold on to religious beliefs and esteem their families highly. Further, most Latinos exhibit low levels of individuality and place emphasis on the well-being of the family. Most family members support each other in various areas of life including health-related needs (Valentine, Godkin, & Doughty, 2008). A nurse helping a Latino patient can use this information to ensure positive outcomes. Such a nurse could ask the patient to be accompanied by another relative especially one that is highly esteemed by the client. For instance, a young Latino patient could be accompanied by their parents since the young patient is likely to accept the advice given by the parents. Further, the parent is likely to offer vital support to the patient hence fast-tracking the recovery process. Such support is imperative since most Latinos delay healthcare, ignore minor illnesses, and often drop out of treatment as soon as symptoms disappear (Livingston et al., 2008). The nurse needs to have this knowledge to ensure they offer culturally competent care. 2.4 Environme...