Introduction
Culture is the primary factor that distinguishes individuals from each other in different countries and societies. Culture determines how people react to various situations, the acceptable ways of the society as well as their way of carrying out daily activities (Bhui et al., 2007). With the modernization and globalization in the current world, cultural competence and sensitivity have significant impacts on the interaction of the people across the globe. The paper indicates how cultural competence and sensitivity affects the mental health of the client. It is a reflection on how culture influences the interaction of a nurse with the clients in the clinical setting due to cultural differences.
Cultural sensitivity refers to the respect accorded to beliefs, norms, and practices of the individuals (Bhui et al., 2007). Cultural competence is the behavior, policies as well as attitudes that are exhibited by people and organizations. Working with a client from a diverse ethnic group was the hardest thing I have experienced during my work as a clinical nurse. Due to diversity in the language of communication, it was difficult to communicate with her easily without the help of a family interpreter. It required that the family interpreter stays close to the patient to ensure that she adhered to the dosage and schedules thereby implying that the absence of the interpreter could disrupt the appointment schedules easily. Additionally, there was diversity in the hygiene culture where the patient culture recommended that washing hands should be done in bowls while the clinical setup recommends washing hands in the running water. As such, the client is at a risk of communicable diseases from contaminations in the water containers. The client was a staunch Christian thus, needed a lot of time to pray in the chapel, which seemed as a form of obsession to me. My culture has a belief that mental illnesses are caused by evil spirits. Therefore, I found myself praying before interacting with the client. Prayer is a way of shunning from such evil spirits but I still had to make sure that it did not bound me since the illnesses are caused by other biological factors.
Cultural remedy
It is important to accept that diversity exists in the world thus is essential to ensure that nurses provide good care for patients during the nursing practice (AlmeidaVieira & Fernandes, 2016). Appreciating diversity will help in improving the way a nurse handles clients and building a lasting relationship that will reduce conflicts. Nurses should also recognize that various religions have varied beliefs that should be respected. As such, it becomes easy to associate and reduce disagreements among the people.
Interventions
The assessment of the nutritional status albumin levels, as well as the weight of an individual, is important. The intervention is built on the rationale that high depletion of proteins results in reduced albumin levels. Patients experiencing pressure ulcers lose a huge number of the proteins in wound exudates. The assessment of a client’s previous histories and family’s pre-existing chronic disease such as diabetes is important. The intervention is built on the rationale that patients with chronic diseases experience various risk factors that expose them to the pressure ulcers (Fortinash & Holoday-Worret, 2008). The risk factors associated with the chronic illnesses include poor hydration, poor nutrition, immobility as well as poor hydration. Other parameters for evaluating the outcomes may include the use of service user-based assessment of benefits, quantitative explanations as well as randomized trials.
Evaluation of strategies implementation
The evaluation of the implemented plan can be done through carrying out surveys on the mentally-ill patients. The surveys should be conducted continuously to identify whether the plan works or not and what can be done to preserve cultural diversity in the practice.
What could be done differently in future
More research should be carried in future regarding the establishment of randomized trials of complex interventions. The attainment of the randomized trials will need a formal agreement for the establishment of effective output parameters for the service as well as educational interventions. In future, there is a need to establish a platform where nurses can be taught about diversity to handle diversity issues among the patients (AlmeidaVieira, & Fernandes, 2016). As such, the nurses can realize that it is important to diagnosis the conditions despite all the cultural diversity and scientific applications.
Organizational shift
The organizational values and culture should be shifted to create a more inclusive environment for all people (Fortinash & Holoday-Worret, 2008). The conducive environment created will ensure that anti-discriminatory practice are used and the establishment of culturally competent care practice is attained.
Conclusion
Cultural sensitivity and competence are essential skills that need to be used in the clinical setting when dealing with the mentally ill patients (AlmeidaVieira & Fernandes, 2016). The mentally-ill patients should be treated equally and respected as other individuals in the society. Therefore, they should be allowed to have access to good care and respect from all members of the society. The health workers should also ensure that they create a culturally competent environment where all people are treated equally despite belonging to distinct cultures.
References
Bhui, K., Warfa, N., Edonya, P., McKenzie, K., & Bhugra, D. (2007). Cultural competence in mental health care: a review of model evaluations. BMC health services research, 7(1), 1.
AlmeidaVieira, A. P. T., & Fernandes, A. B. (2016). Cultural competence in mental health nursing: validity and internal consistency of the Portuguese version of the multicultural mental health awareness scale—MMHAS. BMC psychiatry, 16(1), 1.
Fortinash, K. M., & Holoday-Worret, P. A. (2008). Psychiatric mental health nursing. Mosby.
