Nurses' attitudes and childbearing adolescents: bridging the cultural chasm

Childbearing adolescents represent a vulnerable population with documented health disparities. Although nurses have more contact with childbearing adolescents than any other health professional, little is known about nurses' attitudes and how their attitudes influence nursing practice. The relationship of the provider's attitude to the patient has been associated with health outcomes. An exploratory, descriptive study using focus groups of registered nurses from two hospitals within the Chicago area were asked to discuss their perceptions of challenges, barriers and opportunities related to the care of low-income childbearing adolescents. The theme of system-level barriers to care was discussed by most nurses. The most dense area of data, however, centered on cultural conflict and chasm. Many nurses felt that they had not received the skills and knowledge needed to provide care to diverse families. This study illuminated the need for nursing education and practice settings to enhance cultural knowledge and skills.