Intercultural communication: finding common ground

Diversity has become a leading topic of discussion in virtually all sectors of our society. This is certainly true in health care; the nursing profession has long been dealing with issues of cultural appropriateness. This article looks at the relationship of culture to communication. The current approach to intercultural communication discussed in much of the nursing literature is judged to be short-sighted. An alternative approach based on the development of a functional cultural communication perspective is offered.