Diversity Awareness
Diversity Awareness is…
Expanding on the ANA’s Nursing’s Social Policy Statement, we have assumed the responsibility for assisting professional nurses in their efforts to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse patient population. Diversity Awareness, as we have envisioned it, is acknowledgement and appreciation of the existence of differences in attitudes, beliefs, thoughts, and priorities in the health-seeking behaviors of different patient populations; it reflects the nursing profession’s contract with society and our responsibility to act according to a strong code of ethics, i.e., to be aware of our own attitudes, beliefs, thoughts, and priorities in providing care to individual patients, families, communities, and populations.
Building on recent strides made in the field of cultural competence and acknowledging the need for proactive and knowledgeable response to persistent health disparities in our society, the ANA has committed to partnering with organizational and scholarly leaders to provide practicing nurses, nurse faculty and educators, administrators, and student nurses with high-quality educational resources that we anticipate will encourage you to:
- Make a professional commitment to increasing your understanding of diversity issues and apply this knowledge in caring for all patients.
- Increase awareness of your own attitudes, perceptions, and feelings about different aspects of diversity.
Nursing Organizations
Diversity Awareness in Professional Nursing recognizes the unique needs of different cultural, religious, social, and clinical patient populations in the United States. It is our hope that we will be a resource for all nurses of varying backgrounds, and, that our future efforts will permit collaboration with other professional organizations that aim to be a voice for both nurses and patients.
Health Insurance & Healthcare Access
Socioeconomic status is strongly linked to health status and healthcare seeking behaviors. According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, uninsured and under-insured individuals are more likely to postpone or forgo needed health care including medication prescription filling. Almost 50 million Americans are uninsured at any given time. As such, disease severity in this population is significantly worse. It is our hope that you will find the resources here relevant and informative.
Please stay tuned for new materials in this area and feel free to share your perspectives with us.
LGBT Individuals & Communities
Building on recent social and political advances in the U.S. to protect the human rights of same-sex partnership and expand traditional perspectives on gender identity, Diversity Awareness in Professional Nursing is privileged to provide what we hope will be a wealth of resources to support nursing practice for LGBT individuals and communities.
Please tuned for new materials in this area and feel free to share your help our effort by sharing with us high-quality, user-friendly materials that you may have or develop.
Related Resources
- Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
GLMA is a non-profit membership organization of 2,000 medical professionals working to end homophobia in healthcare. GLMA represents the interests of more than 70,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) physicians and medical students, as well as millions of LGBT patients throughout North America who seek equality in healthcare access and delivery. GLMA promotes quality health care for HIV positive people and supports members challenged by discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. - Find a Provider - GLMA
- Hepatitis: Vaccination and Other Protection - GLMA
- Ten Things Gay Men Should Discuss With Their Health Care Providers - GLMA
- Ten Things Lesbians Should Discuss With Their Health Care Providers - GLMA
- Guidelines for Care of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Patients - GLMA [pdf]
- Minority Nurse: GLBT Health
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health
American Journal of Nursing
Lim, Fidelindo MA, RN; Levitt, Nathan RN
Mental Health
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, approximately 20-25% of American adults experience a diagnosable mental disorder during a given year. Diversity Awareness in Professional Nursing recognizes that such individuals have poorer health outcomes, less healthcare access, and multiple co-morbidities that make mental disorder and illness a relevant clinical practice issue for all nurses, irrespective of specialty area. It is our desire to provide you with meaningful clinical support tools that will help you identify and meet the needs of your patients who may be struggling with mental distress.
Please stay tuned for new materials in this area and feel free to share your perspectives with us in the comments section.
- Are People with Mental Illness Getting the Help They Need? New Findings About Parity Laws, Insurance Coverage, and Access to Care
RAND Corporation [pdf] - RAND Corporation
RAND Corporation Mental Health Inventory: RAND Medical Outcomes Study - SAMHSA
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - Screening and Assessing Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Among Youth in the Juvenile Justice System
A Resource Guide for Practitioners from the U.S. Department of Justice [pdf] - Mental Health Screening and Assessment Tools for Primary Care
American Academy of Pediatrics [pdf]
Bariatric/Obesity
Our decision to include Bariatric/Obesity in our Diversity Awareness in Professional Nursing was a “no-brainer” given the emerging evidence that documents discrimination against overweight and obese patients when seeking health care. Given the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States and the costs to individual health status and the healthcare system, it is our belief that clinical support for professional nurses in this area is timely and needed.
Please stay tuned for exciting developments in this emerging and important field.
- Bariatric Nursing and Safe Patient Care
Bariatric Nursing and Safe Patient Care, a report that describes the nursing care and safety management needs of morbidly obese patients transitioned to the community with home healthcare. - Criteria-Based Protocols and the Obese Patient: Pre-planning Care for a High-Risk Population
- Perioperative Care for Morbid Obese Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery: Challenges for Nurses [pdf]
- Nursing Care of the Morbidly Obese Patient
Continuing education module for professional nurses, focused on nursing care for the morbidly obese patient. - Challenges that Nurses Face in Caring for Morbidly Obese Patients in the Acute Care Setting
- Challenges in Caring for Morbidly Obese Patients
This study aimed to determine how morbidly obese patients and their families manage activities of daily living (ADLs) at home. A survey design was used for this descriptive study. Home healthcare professionals identified both challenges and innovations in managing the ADLs of the morbidly obese in the home. - Obesity: An Emerging Concern for Patients and Nurses
- Obese ICU Patients
- Health Promotion and Nursing Practice for Obese Patients
- Intraoperative Positioning and Care of the Obese Patient [pdf]
- Weight bias
Weight bias, according to a study by the Yale University Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, is as prevalent as racial discrimination in the United States. - Trauma in Obese Patients: Implications for Nursing Practice
- Weight Bias Resources for Bariatric Surgery Clinics [pdf]
A list of research abstracts focused on weight bias against obese patients. - The Effects of Obesity on the Cardiopulmonary System: Other Considerations for Nursing Care of the Obese Patient
Racial & Ethnic Minority Communities
Recognizing that racial and ethnic minority communities have distinct health beliefs and substantial unmet needs when seeking healthcare, this page has been designed to provide the professional nurse with both a general overview of racial/ethnic health disparities in the United States and access to a variety of culturally-specific support tools to identify unmet needs in vulnerable populations.
The materials provided here have been gathered from multiple reliable resources, including government agencies, community groups, and research committees. The list is not exhaustive; it represents the ANA’s beginning efforts to meet the growing demand for relevant, high-quality clinical support tools that can be applied to meeting the needs of diverse patient populations.
We invite you to leave your comments and share similar materials that you may come across or develop and that you believe would benefit the larger nursing community. It is our hope that Diversity Awareness in Professional Nursing will continue to be a collective and enriching effort for all nurses.
Please don’t be offended if we missed something…we welcome your help and expertise so drop us a comment below.
Health Disparities
The National Academies Press
Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
Eliminating Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities in Health Care: What are the Options?
Cultural Competence Tools
Self-Assessment
Recognizing that we all possess biases, some of which we may not be fully aware, the ANA Diversity Awareness Project has been granted permission by the Georgetown University National Center for Cultural Competence, to connect professional nurses to their online self-assessment module.
The Cultural Competence Health Practitioner Assessment (CCHPA) was developed at the request of the Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Service (DHHS). The CCHPA is made available by the Georgetown University National Center for Cultural Competence.
The CCHPA is intended to support the BPHC, and its funded programs, to enhance the delivery of high quality services to culturally and linguistically diverse individuals and underserved communities. It is also intended to promote cultural and linguistic competence as essential approaches for practitioners in the elimination of health disparities among racial and ethnic groups.
Elderly
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the elderly population (individuals > 65 years old) will continue to grow substantially over the next forty years. Given the higher prevalence of chronic illness and unique psychosocial needs of this population, the resources provided here have been selected to provide user-friendly clinical support to professional nurses who care for geriatric patients.
We invite your comments and suggestions for making this webpage a meaningful resource.
Related Resources
Culturally-Specific Tools
Black and African Americans
American Indian/Native Americans/Alaskan Natives
Asian and Pacific Islander Americans
- NYU Langone Medical Center: Center for the Study of Asian-American Health
- The National Center for Reducing Asian-American Cancer Health Disparities
- Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
- Selected Patient Information and Resources in Asian Languages (SPIRAL)
Hispanic and Latino Americans
- We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children Activity and Nutrition) Parents Handbook/¡Nosotros Podemos! Familias Encontrando el Balance: Manual para Padres (en español)
- Act in Time to Heart Attack Signs Easy to Read Handout/Actué rápido frente a los síntomas de un ataque al corazón hoja básica (en español)
- Delicious Heart Healthy Latino Recipes/Platillos latinos sabrosos y saludables (bilingual English, Spanish)
- Risk Factor Booklets for Latinos
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