The importance of cultural assessment

This article presents the importance of cultural assessment to care of patients in general, with a description of the background development of the Sharma Cultural Assessment Instrument and its potential application to care of persons with spinal cord impairment (SCI). A description is presented of the research questions, methods, and results of the doctoral study in which the instrument was originally developed, as well as the explanation of why particular parts of the instrument are significant to care of the patient. A description of how cultural assessment data had an impact on care of a particular geriatric patient is used as an example of the importance of this additional information. The significance of cultural data for care of the person with an SCI concerns such areas as explanatory models, fears and concerns, and the relationship of the nurse with the culturally diverse patient.