The Giger and Davidhizar Transcultural Assessment Model was developed in 1988 in response to the need for nursing students in an undergraduate program to assess and provide care for patients that were culturally diverse. The model includes six cultural phenomena: communication, time, space, social organization, environmental control, and biological variations. These provide a framework for patient assessment and from which culturally sensitive care can be designed.
Seven strategies can assist in culturally appropriate assessment and management of pain: (1) utilize assessment tools to assist in measuring pain, (2) appreciate variations in affective response to pain, (3) be sensitive to variations in communication styles, (4) recognize that communication of pain may not be acceptable within a culture, (5) appreciate that the meaning of pain varies between cultures, (6) utilize knowledge of biological variations, and (7) develop personal awareness of values and beliefs which may affect responses to pain.
The African American church is held in the highest esteem by most African Americans. Although the influence of the African American church has been underestimated by physicians and nurses, it could be pivotal in optimizing health status among African Americans. Because of this influence, health care practitioners, including nurses, are now recognizing the important role that the African American church plays in improving the health status of individuals in the African American community. This article illuminates the health and health care concerns of the African American community by considering the traditional lack of equal access for this population and the role that the church can play in not only offering church-based health care services but also improving the health status of church congregations. Future roles of the African American church for improved health status are also suggested.
For centuries storytelling has been used a powerful communication vehicle. It is also useful in nursing education to enhance self-esteem, develop critical thinking, model behaviors, and to teach cultural sensitivity and communication skills. The authors discuss the use of storytelling in the nursing literature and in a nursing course.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.