Today, we all have been taught that cultural competence is a valuable tool in providing patient-centered care. However, this concept was not considered a standard of oncology nursing practice when the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) began. It was not regarded as a critical component of patient safety, satisfaction, or quality care. In fact, in the 1970s, the importance of providing culturally co...

The lack of culturally appropriate health and mental health care has contributed to the large number of African American youth and families involved in the child welfare system. This article reviews the consequences of the insufficient access to culturally sensitive, evidence-supported interventions for African American foster youth. The authors describe a framework for the development of cultu...

The present study examined how practitioners conceptualized culture and used their understanding of a client's culture to provide culturally responsive caring. Descriptions of practice were elicited from experienced practitioners serving culturally diverse clients. Twelve practitioners completed a written questionnaire and participated in a telephone interview. Half of these same participants a...

Self-identified Hispanic/Latino individuals living with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the continental United States (US) are a diverse group that represents different cultural and ancestral backgrounds. A marked variability in the way MS affects various subgroups of Hispanics in the US has been observed. We reviewed and synthesized available data about MS in Hispanics in the US. There are likely a...

Using ethnographic techniques, I studied the religious and spiritual aspects of health care at the N.R.I. Academy of the Sciences in Chinakakani, Andhra Pradesh, India, to gain perspectives on how culture influences people’s beliefs about health. It became apparent that “cultural customs” accounted for people’s similar beliefs concerning recovery from disease and injury, irrespective of their d...

In response to the need for culturally competent care, faculty can instill in students the desire to become culturally competent practitioners by providing the opportunity to participate in a short-term study abroad immersion experience. While this strategy is not considered cutting-edge or revolutionary, changing global dynamics warrant rethinking this curricular option. Nurse faculty conducte...

In order to decrease the well-documented disparities in oral health and oral health care, the next generation of dentists must be prepared to serve a diverse patient population. This article describes dental students' self-reported knowledge of culture and importance of using culturally sensitive dental practices. Three consecutive graduating classes (n=111) were surveyed anonymously in their s...

The aim of this paper is to discuss the development of a cultural care framework that seeks to inform and embrace the philosophical ideals of caring science. Following a review of the literature that identified a lack of evidence of an explicit relationship between caring science and cultural care, a number of well-established transcultural care frameworks were reviewed. Our purpose was to sele...