Providing cultural care behind the spotlight at the Olympic Games

Abstract

Providing cultural care behind the spotlight at the Olympic GamesThe Olympic Games constitutes the world's largest sporting event. Nurses play an important, but poorly discussed, role in emergency care, routine clinical care and preventive care for athletes from many cultures as well as an enormous influx of spectators. In this article, we discuss five important considerations when preparing nurses to provide safe care for Olympians: elite athletes as a cultural group; caring for the Olympic family; disaster preparedness and security; infection control; and principles of transcultural nursing. Because of the nature of the sports and types of injuries and the effects of climate, these challenges differ somewhat between the summer and winter Olympics. Nevertheless, the Olympic games provide a tremendous opportunity to experience transcultural nursing and to highlight how nurses play a significant role in the care of the athletes, the Olympic family, and the spectators.

Cultural characteristics of nursing practice in Japan

“…That is, to provide anticipatory or upstream care is optimal care . However, the question of what kind of nurse is preferred depends on a patient's experience and cultural expectations . Andrews described in her conceptual model of the cultural influences of nurse‐patient interaction the importance of nurses engaging in both verbal and non‐verbal communication while conducting an assessment of the patient that includes cultural identity, ethno‐history, and cultural values .…”

“…20 However, the question of what kind of nurse is preferred depends on a patient's experience and cultural expectations. 21 Andrews described in her conceptual model of the cultural influences of nurse-patient interaction the importance of nurses engaging in both verbal and non-verbal communication while conducting an assessment of the patient that includes cultural identity, ethno-history, and cultural values. 22 In Japan, where there is a growing number of non-Japanese patients, Japanese nurses must place importance not only on non-verbal communication, but on verbal communication as well.…”

Medical care provision at the venue of the weightlifting event of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

“…This is because such reports only summarize the cases that have been examined by a doctor [1][2][3][4]. However, it is not only doctors who provided medical care at the venue but also nurses, physical therapists, and athletic trainers [5][6][7]. There is no report describing the overall medical practice at one venue, including the medical practices they performed.…”