Cultural Challenges I Faced in My Community Health Project Having a culturally diverse group of a population, posed several challenges, that if not recognized early on, would critically impact the success of our community health program. As cited by Nies and McEwen (2015) it is important that community health nurses “understand the diversity or differences that occur in families, groups, neighborhoods, communities, and public and community health care organizations” (Nies & McEwen, 2015, p. 221). I felt handicapped and culturally challenged each time I met with my group. However, I know that there are other nurses like me, who had and will have the challenge to “provide culturally competent care to a diverse patient population” (Hart &
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As stated by Hart and Mareno (2014) “Prejudices are still alive and well. Everyone has their own deep biases, whether they know it or admit it, and this can be a barrier to learning about or being open to other cultures, traditions, foods, than what you are used to” (p. 2228). I believe that patients, regardless of their culture, should receive appropriate care and that “social stereotypes and pre-existing prejudices of nurses and patients” will seriously impact the nurse-patient communication and (Hart & Mareno, …show more content…
It was a matter of “stepping back, being humble, and listening to” (Hendson, Reis, & Nicholas, 2015, 23) each member’s perspectives. In so doing, I was able to portray a sensitive and responsive stance to the reality of the group (Hendson, et al., 2015). Another way I dealt with the cultural challenge, was to work closely with Gladys, my key informant/interpreter. I gathered as much information about each member of the group, with the realization that people come from different background and adhere to different norms and standards related to health care (Hendson, et al., 2015). Lastly, I established a relationship with and demonstrated respect of each individual client by engaging in informal conversation prior to the meeting. Relationship building, as cited by Hendson, et al., (2015) is “an aspect of care that was found to be rewarding. Regardless of the cultural background of the families, health care providers described the importance of forging genuine relationships, being respectful of all individuals, and empowering parents. (p.
As stated by Hart and Mareno (2014) “Prejudices are still alive and well. Everyone has their own deep biases, whether they know it or admit it, and this can be a barrier to learning about or being open to other cultures, traditions, foods, than what you are used to” (p. 2228). I believe that patients, regardless of their culture, should receive appropriate care and that “social stereotypes and pre-existing prejudices of nurses and patients” will seriously impact the nurse-patient communication and (Hart & Mareno, …show more content…
It was a matter of “stepping back, being humble, and listening to” (Hendson, Reis, & Nicholas, 2015, 23) each member’s perspectives. In so doing, I was able to portray a sensitive and responsive stance to the reality of the group (Hendson, et al., 2015). Another way I dealt with the cultural challenge, was to work closely with Gladys, my key informant/interpreter. I gathered as much information about each member of the group, with the realization that people come from different background and adhere to different norms and standards related to health care (Hendson, et al., 2015). Lastly, I established a relationship with and demonstrated respect of each individual client by engaging in informal conversation prior to the meeting. Relationship building, as cited by Hendson, et al., (2015) is “an aspect of care that was found to be rewarding. Regardless of the cultural background of the families, health care providers described the importance of forging genuine relationships, being respectful of all individuals, and empowering parents. (p.