Essay Example on Cultural Awareness: A Necessity for Caregivers in Society

Introduction

Health is a crucial need for every human being regardless of their age and gender; hence the need for specialized training for all caregivers in society. People come from different cultural backgrounds composed of different beliefs and way of life hence the need for cultural exposure and knowledge acquisition for those in the nursing field (Apesoa-Varano et al., 2015). Cultural awareness refers to one's ability to differentiate the cultural differences between one group to the other. This may include people's values, attitudes towards something they value in their lives (Apesoa-Varano et al., 2015). Cultural awareness helps one adjust accordingly to the environment they are in. This paper attempts to look at the theory of transcultural nursing as proposed by Madeleine Leininger and the impact it has on caregiving and support for patients (Apesoa-Varano et al., 2015).

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Conceptual model /Theoretical/Empirical

The transcultural nursing theory has adopted different concepts to explain the importance of caregiving infused with cultural beliefs (ParlarKilic et al., 2014). For instance, she says that religious and cultural knowledge plays a key role in the healing process. Also, the beliefs people have towards modern treatment may hinder them towards accepting to seek for medical attention in modern facilities instead opting for traditional ways of treatment (ParlarKilic et al., 2014). In her theory, she eludes to the fact that medical care and healing process is largely affected by people's cultural beliefs. According to ParlarKilic et al., (2014), patients tend to feel comfortable with the care administered to them, especially if they consider the nursing caregivers conversant with their cultural beliefs.

There are several propositions to this theory. Madeleine Leininger says that, as a caregiving nurse, you must familiarize yourself with the cultural differences of the patients you are handing so that you may administer care acceptable with their beliefs (ParlarKilic et al., 2014). Secondly, understanding the meanings attached to actions, values, cultural practices, social beliefs will play a key role in decision making, especially for the nurses (Apesoa-Varano et al., 2015). Being able to understand their language will help caregiving nurses settle on the right medical decisions for their patients. According to ParlarKilic et al., (2014) says that It is paramount to factor in all cultural differences and care needs for all patients starting from children to the elderly.

References

Apesoa-Varano, E. C., Tang-Feldman, Y., Reinhard, S. C., Choula, R., & Young, H. M. (2015). Multi-cultural caregiving and caregiver interventions: A look back and a call for future action. Generations, 39(4), 39-48.

ParlarKilic, S., BuyukkayaBesen, D., Tokem, Y., Fadiloglu, C., &Karadag, G. (2014). An analysis of the cultural problems encountered during caregiving by the nurses working in two different regions of Turkey. International journal of nursing practice, 20(3), 310-319.