Cultural sensitivity in nursing is defined as the act of “respecting the practices, the norms and the beliefs of other people and not judging the other people whose cultures are different” (Nguyen & Bornheimer, 2014). The client in this paper is a 32-year old Muslim lady who suffers from mental illness. While doing an assessment, I would first introduce myself to the patient and start communication to understand and gather more information about cultural needs. Through the conversation, I would try to make the client be open and assist her overcome stigma or fear of sharing information. During the conversation, I would also try to understand if the client is fine with the language or if an interpreter is needed. I will also try to understand what roles her culture plays and then try to understand her explanation of symptoms without making any judgment.
The client could be diagnosed with depression and anxiety. This can be arrived after assessing the client and understand the symptoms. Anxiety and depression can have symptoms such as the feeling of nervousness during the conversation, signs of trembling and feeling weak. Based on the client’s explanation, it can be easy to understand the mental health problem she is suffering from. Based on her culture, I would also consider the fact that Muslims have in the past undergone stigmatization, which could have affected her psychological well-being due to leading to depression.
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Cultural safety can be promoted through the development of trust and setting clear, value-free and respectful communication with the client. Showing respect for the client’s views and building trust can help ensure cultural safety (Rassool, 2014). I will also reflect on my own culture, beliefs, and attitude about others and avoiding any stereotypical barriers that could conflict with the client’s culture. Emotional stability can be enhanced through creation of a trusting relationship that is based on openness and two-way communication.
Communication can be used as an intervention to ensure the cultural needs of the clients are met. Communication and working together with the client and her family members can help meet the cultural needs. The intervention can also require a change in the medication diary and other treatment programs in a way that does not cause conflict with the culture of the client. This can make the patient understand that the caregiver respects her cultural practices and values and take them into consideration while designing a treatment plan.
One way to measure the effectiveness of the implementation is the level of the client’s engagement during other sessions of the therapy. If the client shows some level of satisfaction, which can be obtained through survey, then the implementation of the interventions can be said to be effective. Clients tend to have better engagement with the caregivers if they feel their culture is respected. However, when they feel some form of stereotyping or judgment due to their cultural differences, they tend to show low engagement and reduced self-esteem while with the caregiver.
Various changes can be made in the organization to ensure that there is increased cultural safety is to educate all staff members on cultural competency and how to best handle clients from different cultural backgrounds without causing cultural conflict. The cultural sensitivity training program can focus on respectful communication, developing trust, recognizing and avoiding stereotypes, and understanding the influence of culture on shock. Increased knowledge in these activities can help ensure that all nurses and caregivers handle their clients with cultural safety and protect their emotions. The outcome can be increased health outcomes amongst clients and effective response to therapy and any other kind of treatment provided to patients.
References
Nguyen, D., & Bornheimer, L. A. (2014). Mental health service use types among Asian Americans with a psychiatric disorder: Considerations of culture and need. The journal of behavioral health services & research , 41 (4), 520-528.
Rassool, G. H. (Ed.). (2014). Cultural competence in caring for muslim patients . Macmillan International Higher Education.
