EBP Presentation on Cultural Competence

Answer

EBP Presentation on Cultural Competence

                Multiculturalism is a significant change in the current global population. This is attributed to factors such as immigration. According to Ayong and Atanga (2017), it is estimated that 244 million individuals who represent 3.3% of the global population reside in different countries from those of their origin. Compared to the year 2000, this is a 41% rise which reflects on the importance of cultural competence among healthcare providers. This paper, therefore, presents a research problem and PICOT related to cultural competence among community nurses to address challenges such as high turnover, stress, and low job satisfaction.

Advanced Practice Nursing Problem

                Presently, the world has a high human mobility level. Cruz et al. (2018) note that global migration has resulted in new community-based challenges. Further, nurses working in diverse cultural settings are increasing, and despite numerous efforts to develop culturally competent healthcare professionals, there is still a challenge in providing adequate care. Based on the multicultural societies, community nurses are expected to deliver care that acknowledges every individual’s culture, beliefs, language, gender, religion, education, and family structures. As espoused by Murcia and Lopez (2016), community healthcare professions need to appreciate delivering culturally competent care whose outcomes include patient satisfaction, quality and safe care delivery, and enhanced interaction between the different stakeholders.

Numerous efforts have been put in place to address the culturally competent barriers. Among these approaches is the inclusion of the topic in the training curriculum and the adoption of effective organizational culture and structure that provides a supportive environment to diversity among patients (Almutairi, Adlan, & Nasim, 2017). However, community nurses have reported persistent barriers such as patient preferences and differences in beliefs in delivering cultural care which results to a high turnover rate, stress, and poor quality of care. It is therefore essential to evaluate the difference between providing on-job cultural competence training and enhancing policies and procedures at the healthcare that promotes a multicultural working environment.

Research Question

                The Sunrise Model guides and facilitates the theoretical tenets of cultural care. According to Ayong and Atanga (2017), this model directs that nurses expand their global view and incorporate innovative dimensions to comprehending and delivering quality and profound cultural care. Key dimensions drawn from this model include education, political, legal, cultural beliefs and values, philosophical, social and kinship, and economic factors which have significant influence in the quality of healthcare, expressions, and health patterns of families, individuals, and institutions. Two approaches that can be used to address the cultural competence issues and barriers among community nurses are comprehensive training and changing the organizational procedures while revising policies on some of the key aspects related to community diversity such as community literacy. The research question and PICOT in this regard reads: For new community nurses working with multicultural adult patients (P), how does on job training on cultural competence (I) compare to traditional procedure of interpretation and community literacy programs (C) in reducing the nurses’ turnover and stress and promoting their job satisfaction (O) over three months (T).

Literature Review

                Empowering nurses through education and training has a significant influence on their cultural competence. This was asserted by Suk, Oh, and Im (2018) in a study conducted in Korea. According to these authors, cultural competence of nurses was related to their comprehensive awareness of their cultures and empathy towards diverse families. Part of the aspects that should be included in the awareness programs is the importance of empathy to the different communities. Further, there should be systematic education on care that is culturally sensitive to equip the nurses with skills on interacting and providing quality services to diverse families. The importance of culturally-based education should commence at nursing schools and should be included in the curriculum. In a study to examine the cultural competence among nursing learners from different countries, Cruz et al. (2018) established that for baccalaureate nurses, equipping them with global cultural competence perspective during their education was vital in preparing them for working in broad settings. This was critical for them to deliver culturally adaptive, cultural motivated, and culturally sensitive services.

Besides training interventions, healthcare organizations should provide sufficient support to community nurses. This introduces other approaches such as using interpreters to translate aspects such as diagnosis and patient’s experiences. According to Cai (2016), cultural competence is a vital concept in the global healthcare presently and with different antecedents such as cultural encounter, cultural diversity, and cultural desire defining the nurses’ challenges, the adoption of effective interventions such as interpretation and training has numerous benefits. These merits are reflected in the medical facilities, nurses, and patients. Ayong and Atanga (2017) have a contrasting opinion regarding the use of interpreters based on the introduction of other challenges such as ethics and the patient’s privacy. These authors, therefore, recommend providing a supportive environment for the nurses and patients to interact through enhancing community literacy and having a structure and culture that acknowledges cultural diversity. 

Plan, Do, Study, and Act Processes

                Drawing from the above research problem and literature review, it is apparent that although different approaches exist in enhancing the community nurses’ competence, there is still a challenge in establishing which approach is better in addressing the setbacks faced by these individuals. A mixed methodology study would suffice to address this question where community nurses undergo a rigorous on-job education on cultural competence and the impacts of the intervention assessed through interviewing both nurses and patients on satisfaction, quality, and safety of care. In the second phase of the study, it would involve having an interpreter and enhancing the community literacy. The impacts of this approach would be assessed similarly to those of training. Notably, the mixed methodology is selected to obtain both the numerical and narrative data for analysis.

Implications of the Investigation

                Understanding how to enhance cultural competence among community nurses has its upsides and implication to healthcare providers and the medical facility. According to Almutairi et al. (2017), establishing the education and training aspects to include in the interventions is critical in addressing challenges that may arise in multicultural interactions. As noted by Cai (2016), information on ways through which cultural competence can be enhanced either through education and policy or organizational procedural changes is essential in developing rigorous instruments to improve the quality and safety of care. In addition, this investigation will establish how cultural based-barriers can be addressed in a diverse healthcare setting.

In summary, cultural competence is currently among the critical requirements among community nurses. However, there lacks clarity in the best approaches to address the barriers and challenges associated with providing adequate care in multicultural settings. Significant downsides to nurses lacking culturally-competence include less satisfaction, poor interaction with the patient, and a high turnover rate. Different approaches to address cultural competence deficiency include training and altering policies and procedures. While training entails equipping the nurses with different skills in providing quality cultural care, policies and procedures include enhancing community literacy and using interpreters. This research will, therefore, examine which among the two strategies is better. The implications of the research will involve providing insights on rigorous instruments that can be used in promoting community nurses’ cultural competence.