Caring for Diverse Patient Populations in Their Homes

Overview

Patient diversity stems from race, ethnicity, religion, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education, occupation, political affiliation, abilities, disabilities, stigmatized diagnoses, shared life experiences, or any of the many other ways people perceive themselves. Each diverse group has its cultural norms, which include worldviews, beliefs, values, ethical systems, etiquette, aspirations, behaviors, and practices, including those related to healthcare.

No one person is an exemplar of any cultural group. Each person belongs to multiple groups and may or may not adhere to the norms in their groups. In other words, each group is diverse. In addition, each patient (and nurse) develops their own unique culture—ways of thinking about, being, and acting in the world—which affects how they think about health, illness, and health promotion. Nurses must recognize patients as cultural beings and adapt their care to each patient’s culture.  Although written for HHNs, much of this guidance is relevant to nurses and clinicians in all practice settings.

Key Learning Outcomes

1. Describe practices to provide equitable, quality, effective culture-sensitive, and patient-centered (CS/PC) care.
2. Discuss relationship building, assessment and care planning, and patient and caregiver education to promote CS/PC care.
3. Describe strategies to enhance home health nurses’ cultural sensitivity and augment patient-centered care.

Presented by:

Mary Curry Narayan, PhD, RN, CNS, HHCNS-BC, CTN-A

 Mary Curry Narayan is a home health clinical nurse specialist and transcultural nursing consultant at Narayan Associates in Vienna, Virginia.