Objective
Inadequate health care quality may contribute to Native American health disparities through racial/ethnic discrimination by health care professionals. Nursing approaches to relationships and caring offer a means to understand health disparities through an unconventional lens. The study objective was to examine health disparities within the context of patient/nurse relationships.
Design
A descriptive‐qualitative method guided data collection and analysis. Eleven nurses who serve Native Americans were interviewed. They described attitudes, meaningful relationships, and nurse leadership.
Results
Nurses discussed their perceptions of and experiences with Native American patients. Four themes emerged: shared patient/nurse values, patient‐centered care, external forces, and stereotype‐driven care.
Conclusions
Are we ready for the challenge to advocate for, build, and sustain organizational structures that support caring relationships? Implications for public health nursing include being intentional about recognizing implicit biases and ethnocentrism; examining nurses’ complicit roles in perpetuating racism; and developing mechanisms to collectively advocate for improved Native American health.
Although educators have questioned ethical consequences of study abroad programs, there is a paucity of literature indicating that students are the ones doing the questioning. Implications for educators and community members alike include facilitating dialog about collective worldviews related to global health ethics when designing study abroad programs.
To help women transcend their fear and become self-efficacious, nurses can assess how cancer and the screening experience is viewed and, if indicated, move beyond standard education and offer opportunities for dialogue and critical reflection.
Assessment questions grounded in study findings are suggested for use by nurses to develop patient-centered education that facilitates self-monitoring practices.
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