Comprehensive Cultural Assessment
Care planning is an important part of nursing care. It can be used for broad or individual goals within a community. This paper will discuss key components of a comprehensive cultural assessment and care planning. It will also provide a personal reflection from my nursing practice and state two appropriate nursing diagnoses. I will also discuss rationales, interventions, and evaluations of these nursing diagnoses. This care planning allows nurses to provide culturally congruent care for diverse patients.
Key Components of a Comprehensive Cultural Assessment A comprehensive cultural assessment includes many key components. Components may change based on the patient and family. The first component is communication (Andrews & Boyle, 2016). What …show more content…
language does the patient and family speak? Do they need an interpreter? The second component includes economics (Andrews & Boyle, 2016). This plays an important role in medication compliance and treatment options. The third component is health-related beliefs and practices (Andrews & Boyle, 2016). This will also determine what type of treatment a patient and family prefers. Some patients believe in spiritual healing versus modern medicine. Others, such as Jehovah witnesses, may choose modern medicine but limit treatment options. Jehovah’s witnesses do not accept blood or blood products (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 2016). Other components to consider are cultural affiliations, developmental considerations, educational background, nutrition, values, and social networks (Andrews & Boyle, 2016).
Reflection of Two Components As a bedside nurse, I encounter many different patients from all walks of life. Two examples that stick out in my mind focus on communication and economics. Communication involved caring for a patient who was deaf and communicated through sign language. His family stayed with him during the day and helped the nursing staff interpret his needs. Once they left, it was difficult to interact with him. I ended up finding some picture boards that showed basic needs and other indicators, such as pain, food, water, and using the restroom. We also used pen and paper to communicate questions he had about his care. This helped tremendously because I have no idea how to communicate through sign language. Another situation I encountered recently involved a homeless veteran who desperately needed wound care. Due to economics, this gentleman has been homeless since the 1980’s. He had developed a large ulcer on his foot from vascular complications. Due to his situation of being homeless, his personal hygiene was not what it should have been to care for an open wound. He was admitted for intravenous antibiotics and wound care. We tried to get him a place to stay at the VA hospital, but the patient refused to go there. Unfortunately, we had to discharge him without guarantee that he would follow up with his wound care. This is a reminder that not all patients feel their health is a priority.
Nursing Diagnoses, Rationales, Interventions and Evaluations Below are two nursing diagnoses that I chose for my deaf patient and homeless veteran. These diagnoses may also be used for other culturally diverse patients. Impaired verbal communication related to auditory impairment as evidenced by deafness (RN Central, 2016).
The patient will demonstrate improved ability to express self as evidenced by the nurse offering alternative forms of communications such as pictures or drawings (RN Central, 2016). Evaluation can be determined by patient and family’s understanding of education, treatment options, and plan of care. Knowledge deficit related to hospitalization as evidenced by the inaccurate perception of health status (RN Central, 2016). The patient will identify needed alterations in lifestyle (RN Central, 2016). Interventions include allowing the patient to work through and express intense emotions prior to teaching as well as using preferred teaching method (RN Central, 2016).
Evaluation, patient no longer displays a knowledge deficit of care. In conclusion, a thorough cultural assessment is needed with each patient. This is important to individualize care planning for the culturally diverse patient. It is also important for the nurse to focus on the key components of a comprehensive cultural assessment. As I stated above, they may change based on the individual and their family. Once the key components are identified, the nurse can begin appropriate care planning for the
patient.
Key Components of a Comprehensive Cultural Assessment A comprehensive cultural assessment includes many key components. Components may change based on the patient and family. The first component is communication (Andrews & Boyle, 2016). What …show more content…
language does the patient and family speak? Do they need an interpreter? The second component includes economics (Andrews & Boyle, 2016). This plays an important role in medication compliance and treatment options. The third component is health-related beliefs and practices (Andrews & Boyle, 2016). This will also determine what type of treatment a patient and family prefers. Some patients believe in spiritual healing versus modern medicine. Others, such as Jehovah witnesses, may choose modern medicine but limit treatment options. Jehovah’s witnesses do not accept blood or blood products (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 2016). Other components to consider are cultural affiliations, developmental considerations, educational background, nutrition, values, and social networks (Andrews & Boyle, 2016).
Reflection of Two Components As a bedside nurse, I encounter many different patients from all walks of life. Two examples that stick out in my mind focus on communication and economics. Communication involved caring for a patient who was deaf and communicated through sign language. His family stayed with him during the day and helped the nursing staff interpret his needs. Once they left, it was difficult to interact with him. I ended up finding some picture boards that showed basic needs and other indicators, such as pain, food, water, and using the restroom. We also used pen and paper to communicate questions he had about his care. This helped tremendously because I have no idea how to communicate through sign language. Another situation I encountered recently involved a homeless veteran who desperately needed wound care. Due to economics, this gentleman has been homeless since the 1980’s. He had developed a large ulcer on his foot from vascular complications. Due to his situation of being homeless, his personal hygiene was not what it should have been to care for an open wound. He was admitted for intravenous antibiotics and wound care. We tried to get him a place to stay at the VA hospital, but the patient refused to go there. Unfortunately, we had to discharge him without guarantee that he would follow up with his wound care. This is a reminder that not all patients feel their health is a priority.
Nursing Diagnoses, Rationales, Interventions and Evaluations Below are two nursing diagnoses that I chose for my deaf patient and homeless veteran. These diagnoses may also be used for other culturally diverse patients. Impaired verbal communication related to auditory impairment as evidenced by deafness (RN Central, 2016).
The patient will demonstrate improved ability to express self as evidenced by the nurse offering alternative forms of communications such as pictures or drawings (RN Central, 2016). Evaluation can be determined by patient and family’s understanding of education, treatment options, and plan of care. Knowledge deficit related to hospitalization as evidenced by the inaccurate perception of health status (RN Central, 2016). The patient will identify needed alterations in lifestyle (RN Central, 2016). Interventions include allowing the patient to work through and express intense emotions prior to teaching as well as using preferred teaching method (RN Central, 2016).
Evaluation, patient no longer displays a knowledge deficit of care. In conclusion, a thorough cultural assessment is needed with each patient. This is important to individualize care planning for the culturally diverse patient. It is also important for the nurse to focus on the key components of a comprehensive cultural assessment. As I stated above, they may change based on the individual and their family. Once the key components are identified, the nurse can begin appropriate care planning for the
patient.