Trans-Cultural Nursing - Research Paper Example

? Trans-Cultural Nursing in Relation to Case Management When Caring for Substance Abusing Hispanic Patient or Population AffiliationTrans-Cultural Nursing in Relation to Case Management When Caring for Substance Abusing Hispanic Patient or Population Whether one is a seasoned nurse, a nurse practitioner or a nursing student, he or she should observe the diversity within the patient population on a daily basis. Patients come from different races and ethnic backgrounds, in which case it implies that they do not feel, look or respond in whichever way they like. Achieving trans-cultural competence in nursing involves possessing the ability to respond effectively to the various cultural needs of all patients. All the hospital practitioners and nurses ought to recognize that diversity does exist among patients including members of the healthcare team (Powell & Tahan, 2010). This paper discusses the trans-cultural nursing that relates to treatment of substance abuse among the Hispanic population. The discussion will address the substance use problem and its consequences among the Hispanic population Hispanic Population Hispanics involves the largest minority group in the United States with a percentage of 14.2. They comprise young people with 40 percent under the age of 21 years. In addition, they have a proportionately low-income level with 23 percent living under the poverty line. They also have a low level of educational attainments with many of them not finishing high school. The Hispanic growth rate constitutes 3.6 percent per year. Therefore, the Hispanic population is young, rapidly growing ethnic and cultural group in the United States. The growing population is due to the relative youth and the high birth rates including the immigration (Easterby et al., 2012). The phenomenon of drinking might be because of strict cultural sanctions against drinking by women, which is typical in the entire Latin America. Much research shows that there is the preservation of cultural norms of the countries of their origins, and hence, they resist the pressure to engage in the substance use. The patterns of substance abuse amongst the Hispanics might have the influence of acculturation and the countries of origin. In fact, one of the studies based on the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey demonstrates that substance abuse amongst the Hispanics increased with acculturation. On the other hand, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration gives information on the treatment completion, treatment stay and the discharge demographics. Furthermore, the primary substance of abuse varies according to the Hispanic origin, with the Puerto Rican and the Cuban-American women reported being opiate users while the Mexican-American women were more methamphetamine users (O. Doody & C. Doody, 2012). Case Management Case management approaches might be quite useful in having control of substance abuse, for instance, in older women of the Hispanic population. One can observe the alcohol dependency in older women when they are present at an acute care medical setting with such complaints as memory loss and chronic pain among other signs exacerbated by alcohol. The signs should not be for normal consequences of aging. When such occurs, it calls for intervention and discussion of abstinence including the treatment options. The nurse should facilitate treatment, which is respectful, supportive and non-confrontational. The providers should gather the personal information of the client from family members, clergy, and neighbors. The nurse should be direct and honest and should manage to explain that assistance is quite available, and the family member should assist her in communicating when he or she is from a different culture. In managing the case, well-coordinated approaches that deal with the abuse treatment for Hispanic older women should include an interdisciplinary treatment team with the family involved in a plan of individualized support services. The providers should procure management in home care programs, peer outreach, nursing homes, and senior centers to ensure positive results (Powell & Tahan, 2010). Trans-cultural Nursing Management Most of the Hispanic population is multicultural, in which case the membership in more than one culture does not necessarily mean being biracial or multiracial. In the current world, there is a rising number of people who have had to internalize more than one culture and can be multicultural. In fact, many lived in different countries before moving to the United States, and presumably, they have had to internalize several cultures. Therefore, trans-cultural nursing should consider this culture as the mainstream one of the United States, including the US-born ethnic and cultural minorities. In managing this, multiculturalism associates with phenomena such as feelings of uniqueness, pride and vast sense of community history. On the other hand, it brings to mind identity confusion, value clashes, and dual expectations. In the current world, the nursing care should incorporate the knowledge of trans-cultural grounds and science. Through the theories, the nursing will make a significant contribution to the provision of healthcare by all types of hospital practitioners. The increased exposure to diverse groups of patients will lead to the development of trans-cultural nursing. As regards the Hispanic population, in which case most of the people engage in substance abuse and there is the changing of demographics, trans-cultural nursing should be a norm. In addition, there should be the changing of leadership in the health care delivery. Therefore, in caring, managing and nursing the substance abuse patient, trans-cultural nursing should transcend the multicultural boundaries. Trans-cultural nursing makes the nurse provide direct patient care and helps in understanding how to work effectively in the diverse cultural environment (Sagar, 2012). Acculturation Acculturating the immigrants and minorities involving the Hispanic population has to deal with two central issues. The first issue includes the extent to which they get the motivation to sustain their identification with their culture of origin, and the extent to which they get permission to identify with the dominant mainstream American culture. The distinct acculturation involves the assimilation, in which case it implies the identification of the dominant culture, and integration which involves the identification of both cultures. It also involves marginalization which suggests low identification with both cultures, and separation which involves the identification largely within the ethnic culture. Most of the Hispanics have learned the culture of the United States. Therefore, there has been the rooting substance abuse by the Hispanics possibly due to school failure, Hispanic youths lacking jobs, etc. The Hispanic population also begins to drink when they are young, and hence, once they begin drinking they continue with substance abuse. Therefore, there should be some management approaches to curb the indulgence because if the problems continue, then there will be risks amongst the youths, developing into tomorrow’s alcohol and drug problems amongst adults. In relating trans-cultural nursing with substance abuse by the Hispanic population, nurses ought to identify the characteristics relevant to the patient and his or her cultural group. Trans-cultural nursing should intervene and be tailored to help the Hispanics overcome substance abuse. For instance, trans-cultural nursing should come up with a preventive intervention that shows adolescents how to apply cultural values to reduce the risks of alcohol and drug abuse. Trans-cultural nursing should emphasize the individual worth. Nurses also should value the rituals and ceremonies of each Hispanic patient in order to guide the interpersonal interactions. This should be done through having an open mind and the nurse should realize that exceptions can be easily found. The nurse should be cautious in dealing with the substance abuse patient, especially when he or she is using the generalization as a flexible guide, which permits the individualization of the patient care at all times (Sagar, 2012). Other Areas of Diversity Other areas that are quite significant in the Hispanic population involve the religion, mental or physical abilities, age, gender, sexual orientation, and race. The health care providers must, therefore, provide care and communicate with the patients that are suffering from substance abuse in the Hispanic population that involves varying backgrounds, cultures and the preferences. Diversity may have some influence on treatment response (Ayaz, Bilgili, & Ak?n, 2010). In fact, some researchers have to show there may be some slight variance in the way that the people of some racial and ethnic groups respond to treatment, especially about some interventions (Powell & Tahan, 2010). Nurses should strive towards cultural competence. They should consider the race, ethnicity, cultural heritage, and the culture among other factors of the patient, and hence, nurses should become sensitive to patients’ individuals needs. This is evident by the vast number of subcultures and the cultures that do exist on the planet, but it is a highly complex question that requires a lifelong commitment. A nurse who treats a substance abusing Hispanic patient helps him or her in learning from the mistakes, as in each cultural blunder comes the opportunity to learn and improve, and to grow professionally (Andrews & Boyle, 2008). Assessment Measures The assessment step in the process of trans-cultural nursing is quite significant in inter-ethnic relationships. Gathering data concerning the patient from a culture different from that of the nurse, the nurse ought to view the patient in the circumstance within which he or she exists. It is quite significant for nurses to consider the cultural phenomena they understand in order to provide effective care to all patients. Such a cultural phenomenon that might be applicable in the treatment of substance abuse of the Hispanic population includes communication, social organization, environmental control, space, biological variation, etc. Therefore, they must recognize and accept individuals from different culture backgrounds and they have to yearn to vary degrees of acculturation into the main culture. In social organizations, there must be life cycle issues in interactions with individuals and families. In terms of biological variation, nurses should assess some areas that reflect cultural variation and encourage nurses to gather data such as the history of the patient’s culture, value orientations, interpersonal orientations, religion, diets and food behavior, and health and disease belief systems (Andrews & Boyle, 2008). Conclusion Leininger, who was so visionary, had to demonstrate that trans-cultural nursing could fill the needs of the essential heath care in the whole world. The nurses should use trans-cultural nursing to evaluate and adopt the necessary care approaches that are strength based and that are built on the strengths and resources of the patient’s culture, individual experiences and traits, family and spirituality. Among the Hispanic patients, families are an important part of the support network and, therefore, can function as resources in recovery. The centrality of family ties provides the motivation for treatment and a sense of responsibility for the family. The family should up their roles in reducing alcohol abuse among the young Hispanics including young females. In applying trans-nursing practice while caring for the substance abusing Hispanic patient, nurses ought to put best efforts to thwart the misunderstanding and conflicts that may arise while administering their services. Therefore, nurses who understand and value the practice of trans-cultural nursing in order to attain nursing competence are quite able to effect positive changes in the health care sector for patients of the Hispanic population. Sharing the cultural identities needs having knowledge of trans-cultural nursing principles and concepts including the current research findings. Culturally, competent nursing care can only take place when there is the incorporation of patient’s values and beliefs into the nursing care policies. Caring is the foundation of nursing. Therefore, culturally competent nursing guides nurses to administer optimal culturally based care. References Powell, S. K., & Tahan, H. A. (2010). Case managements: A practical guide for education and practice. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Sagar, P. L. (2012). Transcultural nursing theory and models: Application in nursing education, practice, and administration. New York: Springer Pub. Co. Andrews, M. M., & Boyle, J. S. (2008). Transcultural concepts in nursing care. Philadelphia: Wolter Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Easterby, L. M., Siebert, B., Woodfield, C. J. et al. (2012). A transcultural immersion experience: Implications for nursing education. ABNF Journal, 23 (4), pp. 81–84. Ayaz, S., Bilgili, N. & Akin, B. (2010). The transcultural nursing concept: A study of nursing Students in Turkey. International Nursing Review, 57 (4), pp. 449–453. DOI: 10.1111/j.1466-7657.2010.00817.x. Doody, O, & Doody, C. M. (2012). Intellectual disability nursing and transcultural care. British Journal of Nursing, 21 (3), pp. 174–180. Read More