Changes in Nursing

Nursing has changed in a variety of ways over the years, but one of the most important transitions has been related to the increasing cultural diversity of the American population. In the article, Leininger 's Transcultural Theory and Prayer; author D.E. Allyn expresses how prayer has benefit according to the cultural care theory. The first nurse to emphasize cultural care was Madeleine Leininger. According to Leininger, the goal of cultural care is culturally congruent care. Thus, when a client requests prayer as an intervention, supporting this request facilitates the client 's wellbeing and promotes culturally congruent and compassionate care. She believed that "care was the dominant or central focus of nursing, which needed a cultural environmental context to be understood and used". Leininger based her ideas of care and culture on a strong cultural anthropologic framework. A major feature of her theory is the emphasis on comparative culture and care and the way they relate to health, wellbeing, illness, and death in different contexts and cultures as well as in nursing. Leininger foresaw the need to shift from a largely ethnocentric and unicultural perception of care to a broader multicultural point of view. Another important aspect of the theory is that it centers on the cultural differences and/or similarities of individuals or groups and their beliefs, values, and practices. The ultimate goal is to provide culturally congruent care. Influence of Holistic Care; Leininger believes that culturally based care is the most holistic way to learn, interpret, and predict beneficial congruent care practices. She contends that care is the underpinning of nursing and is its unifying aspect. She states that this tenet eclipses the 4 metaparadigms of person, health, environment, and care as the most dominant and central theme of nursing. According to Leininger, understanding how these powerful features Influence expressions of care via a holistic

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