Analysis Of Health Care Disparities

The article addresses the health care disparities and the health disparities patients experience when accessing care. However, the aim of the article is to inform nurses on how they can close the gap by being culturally competent and by demonstrating effective communication (Beard, Gwanmesia & Miranda-Diaz, 2015, p. 58). Although this article is in perspective of US citizens, however I learned the importance of having cultural competence, which will assist me in providing care for each individual client. Cultural competence is defined as "a set of congruent behaviours, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals and enable that system, agency, or those professionals to work effectively in cross-cultural
situations (Beard, Gwanmesia & Miranda-Diaz, 2015, p. 59-60). Since, I live in a multicultural city it is important to focus on the care that I will be providing for my clients while "eliminating racial and ethnic disparities" (Beard, Gwanmesia & Miranda-Diaz, 2015, p. 59). Being culturally competent allows me to be able provide care for the individual client effectively and according to their "cultural needs" (Beard, Gwanmesia & Miranda-Diaz, 2015, p. 60). According to CNO (2009), "everyone has a culture" thus I should work to achieve to provide optimal care with ongoing cultural competence (Beard, Gwanmesia & Miranda-Diaz, 2015, p. 60). Improving communication is also another aspect that I learned from this article. When communicating with clients who have language barriers, I could make sure that the client understands by asking her open ended question which will give me more details about what she understood. The ESFT Model allows the patient to be more active in their care plan and the nurse is better able to provide for the client based on the patient's needs; thus demonstrating a therapeutic communication (Beard, Gwanmesia & Miranda-Diaz, 2015, p. 60-62).