NUR 505 Module 1 Discussion Caring for African American, Mexican, & Navajo Populations

Caring for African American, Mexican, and Navajo Populations

Cultural competence in nursing is important for high quality and patient-centered care. Nurses and other healthcare providers should be aware of the impact of different cultural values, beliefs, and preferences on the uptake of healthcare services. This understanding helps nurses develop care plans that align with the needs of their patients. Therefore, this essay examines the importance of folk medicine practices and folk healers to African Americans in rural settings, a concept being demonstrated in a case study, and communication barriers that non-Navajo nurses are likely to experience when caring for Navajo clients.

The Importance of Folk Medicine Practices and Folk Healers to African-Americans in the Rural Settings

Folk medicine practices and reliance on folk healers are common among African Americans in rural settings. Folk medicine practices and traditional healers are important to this population because they help them address the barriers to accessing the needed healthcare services. African Americans residing in rural settings experience challenges in accessing the healthcare services they need because of the distance to healthcare facilities and high healthcare costs (Aderinto, 2023). The barriers make folk medicine practices and folk healers cheaper and easily accessible alternatives to address their health needs.

Folk medicine practices and folk healers are also cultural symbols. African Americans residing in rural settings consider them symbols of their ancestral origins and practices. Their utilization of folk medicine and folk healers promotes cultural continuity of the significant practices of their culture. African Americans residing in rural settings often experience barriers such as mistrust of the healthcare systems and healthcare providers. However, this is not the case with folk healers since they are trusted healers in their settings. Folk healers also provide culturally appropriate and holistic care that aligns with the needs of African Americans in rural settings (Aderinto, 2023; Douglas et al., 2023). Consequently, it makes folk medicine practices and folk healers essential part of the African American communities in rural settings.

Concept the Case Demonstrates

Mrs. M’s case study demonstrates the concept of cultural competence. The nurse caring for Mrs. M shows a lack of cultural competence. Cultural competence entails healthcare providers understanding and responding effectively to their patients’ cultural values, beliefs, and preferences. Nurses should provide care that aligns with their patients’ cultural values, beliefs, and preferences. The nurse dismisses Mrs. M’s cultural preferences and beliefs, which can affect her experiences with the care she receives (Antón-Solanas et al., 2021). The nurse should have explored the different food types and educated Mrs. M on the importance of diets during the postpartum period.

Communication Barriers

Non-Navajo nurses experience communication barriers when caring for Navajo clients. One of the barriers is the language barrier. A non-Navajo nurse would not speak or understand the Navajo language. This makes it difficult to provide care to patients with limited English language proficiency. Nurses must rely on interpreters to ensure efficiency in service delivery to such patients. The other communication barrier that non-Navajo nurses would experience is cultural differences. Culture affects the use of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies. Non-Navajo nurses would not be aware of the cultural values, beliefs, or preferences of a Navajo patient (Lalla et al., 2020). Consequently, this would affect communication because of misunderstandings between the nurse and their patients.

Conclusion

In summary, folk medicine practices and folk healers are important to African Americans in the rural setting. The case study demonstrates the concept of cultural competence. The nurse shows a lack of cultural competence in her approach to the patient’s request. Non-Navajo nurses would experience communication barriers when caring for Navajo clients.

References

Aderinto, N. (2023). The Impact of Cultural Beliefs and Practices on the Diagnosis and Management of Headaches in Rural African Communities.

Antón-Solanas, I., Tambo-Lizalde, E., Hamam-Alcober, N., Vanceulebroeck, V., Dehaes, S., Kalkan, I., Kömürcü, N., Coelho, M., Coelho, T., Nova, A. C., Cordeiro, R., Sagarra-Romero, L., Subirón-Valera, A. B., & Huércanos-Esparza, I. (2021). Nursing students’ experience of learning cultural competence. PLOS ONE, 16(12), e0259802. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259802

Douglas, E. E., DeLuca, D. A., Franco, P. F., & Battaglia, F. (2023). Using Complementary and Integrative Medicine to Treat High Blood Pressure in African Americans in the United States: Impact of Knowledge, Beliefs, Attitudes, and Behaviors. Integrative and Complementary Therapies, 29(3), 109–115. https://doi.org/10.1089/ict.2023.29078.eed

Lalla, A., Salt, S., Schrier, E., Brown, C., Curley, C., Muskett, O., Begay, M.-G., Shirley, L., Clark, C., Singer, J., Shin, S., & Nelson, A. K. (2020). Qualitative evaluation of a community health representative program on patient experiences in Navajo Nation. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 24. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-4839-x

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Module 1 Discussion

Caring for African American, Mexican, & Navajo Populations

After studying Module 1: Lecture Materials & Resources, discuss the following:

1. Describe the importance of folk medicine practices and folk healers to African Americans in the rural setting.
2. Mrs. M., a Mexican American who just gave birth, tells the nurse not to include certain foods on her meal tray because her mother told her to avoid those foods while breastfeeding. The nurse tells her that she doesn’t have to avoid any foods and should eat whatever she desires. What concept does this demonstrate?
3. Describe at least two communication barriers encountered by non-Navajo nurses when providing care to Navajo clients.

Submission Instructions:

• Your initial post should be at least 500 words, formatted, and cited in current APA style with support from at least 2 academic sources.  Your initial post is worth 8 points.
• You should respond to at least two of your peers by extending, refuting/correcting, or adding additional nuance to their posts. Your reply posts are worth 2 points (1 point per response.)
• Incorporate a minimum of 2 current (published within the last five years) scholarly journal articles or primary legal sources (statutes, court opinions) within your work. Journal articles should be referenced according to the current APA style (the online library has an abbreviated version of the APA Manual).
• Please post your initial response by 11:59 PM ET Thursday, and comment on the posts of two classmates by 11:59 PM ET Sunday.
• Late work policies, expectations regarding proper citations, acceptable means of responding to peer feedback, and other expectations are at the discretion of the instructor.
• You can expect feedback from the instructor within 48 to 72 hours from the Sunday due date.

Module 1: Lecture Materials & Resources

 Framework for Cultural Assessment

Read and watch the lecture resources & materials below early in the week to help you respond to the discussion questions and to complete your assignment(s).

(Note: The citations below are provided for your research convenience. You should always cross-reference the current APA guide for correct styling of citations and references in your academic work.)

Read

• Giger, J. N., & Haddad, L. (2021). Transcultural Nursing: Assessment and Intervention (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO:  Elsevier.
  eBook ISBN: 9780323695565
  Print ISBN:  9780323695541
  • Chapters 1-7
• As part of your readings in this module, please also review the following:
  • Syllabus
  • APA and Research Guides

• • Links to an external site.

Watch

• None.

Supplemental Materials & Resources

• Hawaii Pacific University. (2023, August 29). Transcultural nursing in remote areas. Retrieved from https://online.hpu.edu/blog/transcultural-nursing

• Links to an external site.
• RegisteredNursing.org. (n.d.). Transcultural nurse. RegisteredNursing.org. Retrieved from https://www.registerednursing.org/specialty/transcultural-nurse/
• Links to an external site.
• UNC Wilmington Online. (n.d.). What is transcultural healthcare and why is it important? UNC Wilmington Online. Retrieved from https://onlinedegree.uncw.edu/articles/nursing/transcultural-healthcare-important.aspx
• Links to an external site.

Discussion Rubric