Making anthropology clinically relevant to nursing care

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Anthropology
• Transcultural Studies

Background:

• Transcultural nursing bridges anthropology and nursing.
• A key goal is culturally informed clinical practice.
• Current approaches struggle to operationalize 'culture' for developing culturally competent clinicians.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a model for incorporating the concept of culture into patient care.
• To address the clinical relevance of anthropology and transcultural nursing.

Main Methods:

• Described a transcultural nursing model.
• Included concepts: cultural brokerage, dual ethnocentrism, multiple clinical realities, patient as cultural informant, and cultural assessment of patient views.
• Presented problems and recommended methods for clinical relevance.

Main Results:

• The model operationalizes culture for culturally competent care.
• It addresses the challenge of integrating anthropological concepts into nursing practice.
• Identified specific concepts for practical application in patient care.

Conclusions:

• The proposed transcultural nursing model facilitates the operationalization of culture in patient care.
• It aims to enhance the development of culturally competent clinicians.
• Addresses the gap between anthropological theory and clinical nursing practice.