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The COVID-19 pandemic has posed challenges to healthcare organizations across the world. This article describes an international joint venture between Mayo Clinic and Abu Dhabi to care for an increasing number of patients with COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many nurses practicing today lack basic education about LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) patient care. How can they better prepare to care for this population? This article provides insight on LGBTQ people, their health risks and disparities, and how nurses can work with LGBTQ patients to improve outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Council of Nurses and the World Health Organization have designated 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife. 2020 Is also being celebrated as the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth. The DAISY Award, as a global recognition of compassionate, extraordinary nursing care, aligns with both celebrations. DAISY stories from around the world demonstrate that nursing care delivered with compassionate skill is truly global and knows no boundaries! [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural competence is essential for establishing rapport with patients and for assessing patients' needs. This article discusses how self-awareness can help nurses provide culturally competent care to patients and their families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides background information about language barriers between nurses and patients and how such barriers influence patient outcomes. Topics covered include the use of practice-based strategies to improve outcomes and reduce readmissions, structured refugee resettlement in the U.S., and the growth in the number of Russian-speaking people in the U.S.

Background: The demand for nurses to provide transcultural nursing care is rising. However, little is known about the relationships among the dimensions of nurse personality, intercultural communication, and cultural self-efficacy in the provision of this care. Purpose: The aims of this study were to examine the associations among personality, intercultural communication, and cultural self-efficacy in nursing students and to compare intercultural communication and cultural self-efficacy between first-year and third-year nursing students. Method: One hundred twenty-six Chinese students completed a questionnaire that consisted of three scales that were designed to measure intercultural communication, cultural self-efficacy (cultural concepts, transcultural nursing functions, and cultural knowledge related to South Asians), and personality, respectively. Results: Intercultural communication correlated positively with the three subscales of personality, agreeableness (r = .22, p < .05), openness (r = .20, p < .05), and conscientiousness (r = .18, p < .05). Self-efficacy in cultural concepts correlated positively with agreeableness (r = .18, p < .05) and intercultural communication (r = .49, p < .01). Self-efficacy in transcultural nursing functions correlated positively with intercultural communication (r = .36, p < .01), agreeableness (r = .31, p < .01), emotional stability (r = .25, p < .01), openness (r = .32, p < .01), extraversion (r = .19, p < .05), and conscientiousness (r = .20, p < .05). Self-efficacy in cultural knowledge related to South Asians correlated positively with agreeableness (r = .20, p < .05) and intercultural communication (r = .27, p < .01). No significant difference was found between first-year and third-year students in terms of intercultural communication, self-efficacy in knowledge of cultural concepts, self-efficacy in the skills needed to perform key transcultural nursing functions, or self-efficacy in the cultural knowledge related to South Asians. Conclusions/Implications for Practice: Personality assessments should be included in the nursing student recruitment process. Furthermore, nurse educators should focus greater attention on enhancing the cultural self-efficacy and intercultural communication skills of their students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Conflicts arising from cultural diversity among patients and hospital staff in China have become intense. Hospitals have an urgent need to improve transcultural self-efficacy of nurses for providing effective transcultural nursing. Objective: The purpose of the research was to (a) evaluate the current status of perceived transcultural self-efficacy of nurses in general hospitals in Guangzhou, China; (b) explore associations between demographic characteristics of nurses and their perceived transcultural self-efficacy; and (c) assess the reliability and validity of scores on the Chinese version of the Transcultural Self-Efficacy Tool (TSET). Methods: A cross-sectional survey of registered nurses from three general hospitals was conducted. Quota and convenience sampling were used. Participants provided demographic information and answered questions on the TSET. Results: A total of 1,156 registered nurses took part. Most nurses had a moderate level of self-efficacy on the Cognitive (87.9%), Practical (87%), and Affective (89.2%) TSET subscales. Nurses who were older; who had more years of work experience, higher professional titles, higher incomes, and a minority background; and who were officially employed (not temporary positions) had higher perceived transcultural self-efficacy. Reliability estimated using Cronbach's alpha was .99 for the total TSET score; reliability for the three subscales ranged from .97 to .98. Confirmatory factor analysis of TSET scores showed good fit with a three-factor model. Conclusion:The results of this study can provide insights and guidelines for hospital nursing management to facilitate design of in-service education systems to improve transcultural self-efficacy of nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aims to provide demographic data on the 5.4% of U.S. RNs who are Latino in order to assist nursing educators in planning more effective engagement with the growing U.S. Latino population. Methods: Detailed data from the U.S. Census for the years 1980 to 2010 were used to identify the total U.S. population and the total number of RNs in four standard U.S. Census racial and ethnic groups: non-Latino white (NLW), Latino, African American, and Asian/Pacific Islander. Results: The number of RNs in each racial or ethnic group per 100,000 persons of that same group is reported for all four groups. Spanish-language ability and nativity were derived only for the NLW and Latino groups. Data are reported for the United States as a whole and for the five states with the largest Latino populations: California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas. Of the four racial and ethnic groups, Latinos had the fewest number of RNs per 100,000 population in the period from 1980 to 2010. Compared with NLW RNs, Latino RNs were more likely to speak Spanish and to have been born abroad. State-by-state variations from the national patterns are provided. Conclusions: While major nursing organizations have expressed a desire to increase the diversity of the nursing workforce, the data show that Latinos lag far behind all other racial and ethnic groups in representation among RNs. Nursing education programs and institutions need to improve their efforts to increase the number of Latino nurses relative to the Latino population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Taiwan is a multicultural and multiethnic society with a growing number of immigrants who have diverse ethnic, racial, and cultural needs. Although this diversity highlights the pressing need for culturally competent healthcare providers, cultural competence is a concept that is little understood and implemented only sporadically in Taiwan. Purpose: This study investigates the cultural competence of Taiwanese nurses and the related factors of influence. Methods: An online self-report survey was used to collect data from 221 Taiwanese nurses from December 2012 through January 2013. Data from the demographic questionnaire, the Nurses' Cultural Competence Scale, and the Perceived Nurses' Cultural Competence Rating were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, independent sample t tests, and multiple regressions. Results: The cultural competence of the participants was in the ''low-to-moderate'' range, with relatively higher mean scores for the subscales of cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity and relatively lower scores for the subscales of cultural knowledge and cultural skills. Participants generally perceived themselves as being ''not culturally competent.'' Variables found to predict cultural competence included years of work experience, hours of continuing education related to cultural nursing care, and frequency of caring for clients from culturally and ethnically diverse backgrounds. Conclusions/Implications for Practice: Participating Taiwanese nurses rated their level of cultural competence as in the low-to- moderate range and self-perceived as being not culturally competent. These findings support the need to further expand and enhance cultural-competence-related continuing education and to address the topic of cultural care in the nursing curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the need for nurses to be aware of how they can reduce health care disparities through effective communication and culturally competent care. It mentions the presentation of the ESFT model as a tool to facilitate culturally responsive care as well as enhance cross-cultural communication between the nurse and the patient. The use of the said tool to improve communication is also tackled.

Background: International migration is a global phenomenon challenging healthcare professionals to provide culturally competent care. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of leaders on the cultural competence of healthcare professionals. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from 2010 to 2012 to obtain data for a social network analysis in 19 inpatient services and five primary care services in Belgium. The Competences in Ethnicity and Health questionnaire was used. A total of 507 healthcare professionals, including 302 nurses, identified their social relationships with other healthcare professionals working in their service. Highest in-degree centrality was used to identify the leaders within each health service. Multiple regressions with the Huber sandwich estimator were used to link cultural competence of leaders with the cultural competence of the rest of the healthcare staff. Results: Cultural competence of the healthcare staff was associated with the cultural competence of the leaders. This association remained significant for two specific domains of cultural competence--mediation and paradigm--after controlling I for contextual and sociodemographic variables. Interaction analysis suggested that the leadership effect varied with the degree of cultural competence of the leaders. Discussion: Cultural competence among healthcare professionals is acquired partly through leadership. Social relationships and leadership effects within health services should be considered when developing and implementing culturally competent strategies. This requires a cautious approach as the most central individuals are not always the same persons as the formal leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the prevalence of chronic pain particularly the Black Americans due to the demographic change in the U.S. It states that the nurses and healthcare providers should provide a cultural responsive pain care to the Black American patients. It cites several factors to assess racial awareness in patient care including awareness, skill, knowledge, encounters and desire and documentation.

The article offers information on the methods of preparing nurses to care for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). Topics discussed include the access to medical interpreters speaking minority language, the role of nurses in addressing the issues of language-linked healthcare disparities, and the improvement of outcomes for all patients.

The article focuses on the role of nurses in providing assistance among women who have experienced rape and war-related sexual assistance. Topics discussed include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experienced by women victims, the key role of nurses to facilitate the removal of communication barriers, and familial support and prevention of escalation when identifying risks for violence. INSETS: Health risks associated with PTSD;Health problems associated with sexual violence;Preventing vicarious trauma and burnout.

Abstract: It is important for nurse practitioners to understand their patients' cultural backgrounds to provide competent care at the end of life. Understanding the concepts of various cultures can keep the lines of communication open and help providers elicit the necessary information to make the end-of-life experience as comfortable as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on guidance for practitioners from social care and health services in developing culturally competent practice. It discusses the significance of cultural competence in nursing care, and how the nurses can deliver it. The cultural competent nurses rely on a belief that everyone should get fair and equal healthcare access and opportunities. Topics include role of culturally competent nursing care, professional medical interpreter services, and cultural competence evaluation. INSET: Becoming familiar with current standards and guidelines.

The article discusses a study aimed at analyzing the cultural sensitivity of community health nurses who are on the frontline to provide culture-specific healthcare to the new immigrant women in Taiwan. The result showed that the cultural sensitivity and length of contact time with recently immigrant women were positively correlated. This study implies that the cultural care education programs for community health nurses help improve the healthcare quality for new immigrants.

The article presents information on culturally competent care and how can it can be used to lessen healthcare disparities among patients. Understanding motivation, purpose, and goals for becoming culturally competent is stated to be important. It is stated that one requires continuous self-evaluation, skill development, and knowledge about culturally diverse groups in becoming culturally competent. Barriers of cultural componentency is the lack of universally accepted definition for cultural competency as well as lack of evidence to support the use.

The article discusses cultural competency in healthcare. It explores the relevance of the concept in building patient-nurse relationships in culturally diverse settings. It discusses the issues of race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status in establishing rapport and communication with patients to achieve better treatment outcomes.

This article offers discussion on caregivers. It mentions that informal caregivers provide majority of assistance to frail older people, information to the health care team, and emotional and practical support to hospitalized patients. It also points out that a nurse's primary role is to provide a patient and family with the information they need. Other topics discussed include the barriers in the health care environment, the caregiver's cognitive and health status and teachable moments. INSET: Teach Back.

Updated several times a week with posts by a wide variety of authors, AJN 's blog Off the Charts allows us to provide more timely—and often more personal—perspectives on professional, policy, and clinical issues. Best of the Blog will be a regular column to draw the attention of AJN readers to posts we think deserve a wider audience. To read more, please visit: www.ajnoffthecharts.com. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information on transcultural nursing and also learning to respect individual patients preferences. When caring for a patient from a culture different from one's own, one need to be aware of and respect his cultural preferences and beliefs; otherwise, he may consider the nurse insensitive and indifferent, possibly even incompetent. Research reveals that people from the United States, Canada, and Great Britain require the most personal space between themselves and others. Those from Latin America, Japan, and the Middle East need the least amount of space and feel comfortable standing close to others. One should keep these general trends in mind if a patient tends to position himself unusually close or far and be sensitive to his preference when giving nursing care. INSET: Overcoming barriers to communication.

Presents a model for cultural change in diverse health care settings, which assesses strengths, community resources, and readiness for change. Importance of the use of transcultural nursing administration concepts for survival, growth, satisfaction, and achieving goals in the multicultural workplace; Accomplishment of cultural self-assessment through a variety of techniques aimed at encouraging the individual to examine attitudes, values, biases, beliefs, and practices; Steps for nurse administrators making culturally appropriate organizational change, including gathering demographic and descriptive data.

A continuing education quiz is presented that relates to the strategies for overcoming language barriers between healthcare providers and patients with limited English proficiency, with topics mentioned such as medical interpreters, Affordable Care Act, and English fluency.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the challenges in hospital care caused by linguistic and cultural differences, vital role of nurses to migrant services, and health equity.

The article provides an answer to a question about an English-speaking woman from Laos, who needs help in getting a driver's license in the U.S.

The article provides an answer to a question on how to regain the trust and provide nursing care to a Muslim patient who has been distressed due to an incidence concerning her Islamic beliefs.

The article provides information on several Web resources to improve cultural competence among nurses. Resources cited include EthnoMed, a joint program of the University of Washington Health and Sciences Library and Harborview Medical Center, the Refugee Health Information Network (RHIN) and Selected Patient Information Resources in Asian Languages (SPIRAL).

The author discusses the incorporation on the practice of hearing the cultural experiences in nursing education which can inspire nurses and students for the health care perspective. Topics include focus on a story told by a traditional healer about a dream of animals leaving his heart, creation of an atmosphere of openness, closeness, and warmth by listening to a client's story, and author's opinion on how storytelling allows nurses to adapt the care as per a client's specific situation.

Focuses on a perinatal cross-training program at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. Factors contributing to the success of the program; Explanation of the cross-training program for staff nurses; Goals for cross-training; Details on the development of competency-based orientation programs; Advantages of developing cross-training programs at health facilities.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Reaching for Cultural Competence" in the June 2013 issue.

A personal narrative is presented in which the author recounts an incident of her time in a nursing school in Nigeria when a word-sounding technique learnt much earlier in life helped her calm a mentally disturbed patient on her psychiatry rotation.

The article provides an answer to a nurse's question concerning how to care for a patient with the Latin American cultural illness susto, which he called "fright sickness.

Focuses on how nurses can provide proper medical care to patients with different cultural backgrounds by considering their social life and customs. Cultural assessment; Medicine men and native healers; Beliefs and practices about health and health care.

Describes the misdiagnosis of a middle-aged South American Indian who got lost in Florida while taking part in a government-sponsored project. Incomprehensibility of man's behavior to the medical staff; Provision of medication for paranoid schizophrenia; Garnering of patient's story after communicating with nurse who was of Spanish-Indian descent.