CULTURALLY COMPETENT NURSING 1
NSG4074 Week 2 Culturally
Competent Nursing.
Culturally Competent Nursing
South University
Health Promotion and Clinical
Prevention NSG4074
, CULTURALLY COMPETENT NURSING 2
Culturally Competent Nursing
According to American Nurses’ Association (2016), culture is a population’s behavioral
ways, values, beliefs, way of living, and family life. In addition, culture entails spiritual opinions,
biology, economics, political, and psychological situations. These characteristics guide a
people’s worldviews and influence their decisions including those that concern their health.
Nurses should therefore be aware of how the said characteristics influence health care for them
to provide health care that meets the cultural expectations. The outcome expected after this
understanding will improve the quality of care given and acquire patient satisfaction.
Cultural awareness is the acceptance of different cultures while culturally sensitive is
respecting the diversity of the culture. Cultural competence therefore is a continuous process in
nursing where the nurse understands and is able to work well with the patient’s cultural needs in
mind. Health disparities which include, age, financial capability, comorbidities, lack of access
to healthcare, racism, insurance, health literacy, symptom expression, language, expectations,
and when to seek for health care, are present in different cultures (American Nurses’
Association, 2016).
The Purnell Model for Cultural Competence
This assessment tool is used in all levels of health care. it is based on the notion that all
health care providers require similar information, but the information may vary depending on the
patient’s culture. The model therefore uses twelve domains to help guide the health care provider
in offering the best care to the patients based on his culture. It is based on various disciplines that
include sociology, biology, geography, anthropology, economics, nutrition, political science,
pharmacology, communication, family development and social support. The twelve domains
look at the patient’s customs, language, role in the family, workforce, bio-cultural ecology, high-
NSG4074 Week 2 Culturally
Competent Nursing.
Culturally Competent Nursing
South University
Health Promotion and Clinical
Prevention NSG4074
, CULTURALLY COMPETENT NURSING 2
Culturally Competent Nursing
According to American Nurses’ Association (2016), culture is a population’s behavioral
ways, values, beliefs, way of living, and family life. In addition, culture entails spiritual opinions,
biology, economics, political, and psychological situations. These characteristics guide a
people’s worldviews and influence their decisions including those that concern their health.
Nurses should therefore be aware of how the said characteristics influence health care for them
to provide health care that meets the cultural expectations. The outcome expected after this
understanding will improve the quality of care given and acquire patient satisfaction.
Cultural awareness is the acceptance of different cultures while culturally sensitive is
respecting the diversity of the culture. Cultural competence therefore is a continuous process in
nursing where the nurse understands and is able to work well with the patient’s cultural needs in
mind. Health disparities which include, age, financial capability, comorbidities, lack of access
to healthcare, racism, insurance, health literacy, symptom expression, language, expectations,
and when to seek for health care, are present in different cultures (American Nurses’
Association, 2016).
The Purnell Model for Cultural Competence
This assessment tool is used in all levels of health care. it is based on the notion that all
health care providers require similar information, but the information may vary depending on the
patient’s culture. The model therefore uses twelve domains to help guide the health care provider
in offering the best care to the patients based on his culture. It is based on various disciplines that
include sociology, biology, geography, anthropology, economics, nutrition, political science,
pharmacology, communication, family development and social support. The twelve domains
look at the patient’s customs, language, role in the family, workforce, bio-cultural ecology, high-
