1. Transcultural Nursing

2. Major Factors in Transcultural Nursing
Beliefs about illness, causes and cures
Nutrition and dietary practices
Disorders specific to a particular ethnic group
Religious beliefs about illness and death

3. Asian Americans Demographics
4.3% of U.S. population (12.5 million)
Asian Indians projected to become the dominant ethnic group within the next decade
2050 ethnic/racial groups will comprise close to 50% of U.S. population

4. Asian Religions Christianity-Philippines Islam-Middle East Asia
Hinduism-India
Buddhism-throughout Asia
Judaism-Israel
Taoism-China
Shamanism-Thailand
Shinto-Japan

5. Examples of Asian Healthcare Beliefs
Yin and yang balance
Respect for physician
Limited concept of mental illness
Traditional self-care, self-medication, self-dosing
Fearful of blood work, excessive testing, surgery

6. More Asian cultural health care belief examples
Self-restraint-may refuse pain medicine out of courtesy
Do not touch the head-private and personal
Modesty
Eye contact
Fasting (Ramadan)
Visiting hours-large groups of family members
Birthing beliefs

7. Examples of Asian Healthcare Practices
Coining (Caogio)
Cupping (Giac)
Steaming (Xong)
Acupuncture
Patent Medicines

8. What is the role of the nurse?
Provide care that is congruent with cultural values, beliefs and practices
Perform transcultural assessments (communication, personal space, diet, religious beliefs, social orientation, what interventions have they already done?)
Develop culturally competent interventions
In-service staff on cultural competency
Include teaching of transcultural nursing in school curriculum

9. Example of culturally sensitive interventions:
Arrange nursing care so that it does not interrupt prayer session
Try to schedule medication administration so that it does not interfere with fasting
Try to accommodate dietary needs specific to culture
Learn about alternative/complimentary medications

10. Have I ASKED Myself the Right Questions?
A-wareness: Am I aware of my personal biases and prejudices towards cultural groups different than mine
S-kills: Do I have the skill to conduct a cultural assessment and perform a culturally-based physical assessment in a sensitive manner?
K-knowledge: Do I have the knowledge of the patient’s world view ?
E-ncounters: How many face-to-face encounters have I had with patients from diverse cultural backgrounds?
D-esire: What is my genuine desire to “want to be” culturally competent?

11. “Women who teach nursing in India must know the languages, the religions, superstitions and customs of the women to be taught…
Florence Nightingale, 1894