Culture & spirituality as an integrated concept in pediatric care

The purpose of this article is to propose an integrated approach to culture and spirituality in pediatric care. In the spirit of sensitive and respectful communication with patients, pediatric nurses have become increasingly concerned with the child's and family's culture, spirituality, and religion. As a result, various approaches and models have been created to help nurses initiate discussions surrounding these topics. These models have given rise to categorizations of culture, spirituality, and religion. It is important for pediatric nurses to understand that while delineations can be made, there are also many intersecting factors that make separation of these issues difficult and perhaps unnecessary for the purpose of culturally sensitive communication. Pediatric nurses should, perhaps, focus instead on understanding the individual child's or family's traditions, values, and beliefs and how these dimensions impact the health of the child. This article suggests three areas that can be used as an organizing framework for pediatric nurses to broach culturally sensitive issues within the context of pediatric primary healthcare: (1) Family beliefs/values, (2) Family daily practices, and (3) Community involvement.