Influence of culture on health care & nurses incorporating cultural sensitivity into their practice

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INFLUENCE OF CULTURE ON HEALTH CARE , NURSES INCOPORATING CULTURAL SENSITIVITY INTO THEIR PRACTICE

The world over , nations are inhabited by people with different cultures . Cultures comprises of shared symbols which one passed down from one generation to another . People 's culture has a great influence in how they perceive their environment and the people around them Culture dictates the decisions people make thus it has a great impact on people ' day-to-day interactions . A people culture constitutes peoples way of life , peoples religion

, language , social life , political societal beliefs and values among others (Loewy , 2004

In hospitals and other health centers , nurses have to deliver health care to patients . Both out patients and in patients (casualties ) come from different cultures and have different cultural beliefs and values For instance , in the United States of America , there are a diversified people with a diverse culture especially in rural America . Some of the cultural groups living in America include Asians , Americans , blacks Hispania 's , non-Hispania (Latinos ) among other minor immigrant groups America ancestors came from different cultures . The United States of America is among the nations inhabited by people of diverse cultures (Samova et al , 2006

Diversities in culture pose a great challenge to health care personnel 's like nurses , clinical officers , and doctors among other key attendants in health institutions . Hospitals are humanistic institutions and they offer health services to the best interest of patients , whether they are private or public institutions . As a result health care attendants especially nurses are faced with the challenge of exercising cultural sensitivity in their everyday services of attending to casualties (Sign Leiyushi , 2004

Being among one of the richest and developed nations of the world , the united states of America invests a lot of money in ensuring that healthcare is provided to all citizens . For instance , in Cuba healthcare is provided at no cost to citizens . This depicts the emphasis the government puts on its peoples ' health . Thus , in the united states of America , nurses practice cultural sensitivity by the way they talk to casualties , by treating them a number of ways in an effort to be culture sensitive (Thomas , 2004

Nurses have to be sensitive of the way they converse with patients Different patients ' from different cultures advocate for varying conversational styles . Different cultures dictate that people should use certain phrases , while expression or symbols while others don 't dictate so . For instance , certain culture dictate that young people should not be the first to initiate a conversation , say by a form greeting while for others like the Muslims the idea of a young one greeting an elder is quite okay . Nurses should therefore be sensitive of patients ' cultural backgrounds since the way they converse with a patient can affect the patient . This is because patients want to feel that their cultures are respected . Failure to respect a patient 's culture can hinder a patient 's recovery since a patient needs to trust the nurse who is administering healthcare...