Madeleine Leininger Transcultural Nursing Theory

Theories of transcultural nursing with established clinical approaches to clients were founded in the mid-1960s and are an essential aspect of healthcare today. The ever-increasing multicultural population in the United States poses a significant challenge to nurses providing individualized and holistic care to their patients. Accurate assessments identify factors that define transcultural nursing and analyze methods to promote culturally competent nursing care.” (Maier-Lorentz, 2008)

The development of the Giger and Davidhizar Transcultural Assessment Model (GDTAM) came about because of nursing students’ need to provide culturally diverse care for patients. The model acknowledges that each culture is individually unique and assesses them according to six phenomena: communication, space, social organization, time, environmental control, and biological variations. In this model “nurses must use transcultural nursing knowledge as a skill and an art to provide care to diverse populations in a culturally appropriate and competent manner” (Sagar, 2012, p. 57). It goes on to discuss how the model sees cultural competence as “a dynamic process implemented by an individual or health care agency by using significant interventions based on the client’s ‘cultural

Leininger (1988) defined nursing as a transcultural phenomenon requiring knowledge of different cultures to provide care that is congruent with the clients’ life ways, social structure, and environmental context. This definition from the founder of transcultural care would support applying a cultural sensitive nursing care in the clinical setting, and highly linked to her definition of transcultural nursing as a legitimate and formal area of study focused on culturally based care beliefs, values, and practices to help cultures or subcultures maintain or regain their health (wellbeing) and face disabilities or death in culturally congruent and beneficial caring ways (Leininger, 1970, 1978, 1995). Moreover Leininger summarized the process of applying transcultural care as providing care that fits with cultural beliefs and life ways. From a professional perspective, it refers to the use of emic (local cultural knowledge and life ways) in meaningful and tailored ways that fit with etic (largely professional outsiders’ knowledge), in other words care should be individualized according to patient’s culture to promote holistic and effective nursing care.

Cultural competence can be defined as using the ability of one’s awareness, attitude, knowledge and skill to effectively interact with a patient’s many cultural differences. Madeline Leininger, a pioneer on transcultural nursing describes it this way; “a formal area of study and practice focused on comparative human-care differences and similarities of the beliefs, values and patterned lifeways of cultures to provide culturally congruent, meaningful, and beneficial health care to people” (Barker, 2009, p. 498). The importance of cultural diversity in healthcare allows for the delivery of appropriate cultural autonomy. Showing respect for others will lead to trust between nurse and

Madeleine Leininger’s cultural care theory is one of the most influential modern day theories in nursing. Leininger describes her theory as one that is cultural sensitive that is tailored to address patients of different cultures, backgrounds, or origins. Leininger develops the cultural care theory due to the fact that she believes that nurses are caring for their patients as a one hat fits all, and not taking into consideration the patient 's background or their culture.

“Health is influenced by culture and beliefs” (NRS-429V, 2011, p. 1). In order for the nurse to properly care for the patient, she must know and understand the patient’s culture. “Cultural care is a comprehensive model that includes the assessment of a client’s cultural needs, beliefs, and health care practices” (NRS-429V, 2011, p. 1). It is not enough to just know where the patient lives or where he came from. The nurse must embrace the concept of cultural competence and cultural awareness. This requires not only the awareness of the cultural beliefs and values of their patients, but also

With the large increase multicultural population in the United States, nurses encounter patients with differences in healthcare beliefs, values and customs. To provide adequate nursing care, nurses must be aware of these differences. They must respect and acknowledge the patient’s culture. To do this, nurses need education on cultural competence to ensure patient satisfaction and better patient outcomes.

Madeliene Leininger was one of the first people to recognize that cultural differences influence an individual’s response to health care activities and that these cultural differences also affect experiences of well-being, health, illness, disability and death. During her career, Leininger noticed eight factors occurring in the world around her that directly impacted people of different cultures. She used these factors to frame the theory of transcultural nursing, and today, they are still relevant. She observed a sharp increase in population migration between countries across the globe. She experienced people who

Nursing theory is foundational to nursing practice; however, there exists a reciprocal relationship between practice and theory. Through examining nursing theory, the nurse can make better-informed decisions about the patient’s care. In addition, the theory will influence the care for future patients as well. One theorist that changed the landscape of nursing is Madeleine Leininger. Her culture care theory changed the dialogue of healthcare regarding care. This paper will discuss the importance of theory in nursing theory. Next, a summary of Leininger’s theory will precede a discussion about how the theory will be applied in a nursing context. Finally, the correlation between Leininger’s theory and the practice of a nurse practitioner will ensue. Her culture care theory will inform the practice of a nurse practitioner and how culturally competent care will be given.

The premise of Madeleine Leininger ‘s Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality is that one must regard his or her patient both holistically and with respect to the patient’s given cultural background. Leininger aims to establish a nurse-patient relationship in which communication and collaboration are culturally congruent. Via such interactions, a nurse can hypothetically deliver individualized, culturally competent care. However, while Leininger’s theory has many benefits and clear applicability in a multicultural society, its execution may fall short due to the predominating social norms and values held by larger society.

Providing culturally competent nursing care begins with having basic principle knowledge and effective training us a nursing student. Madeleine Leininger’s Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality defines nursing as a learned scientific and humanistic profession that focuses on patient care, experiences and creative thinking relevant to nursing and health care system. As nurse student in today’s society you will come in contact with a lot of cultural differences, but having basic knowledge of cultural diversity will be an advantage, and it’s significant for a nurse to understand the interaction of these cultural systems which enables nurses to become more effective in doing nursing assessment and serving as client advocates. The focus of the theory is toward developing new practices for nursing to meet diverse cultural needs and to provide culturally congruent nursing care. The research will discuss and provide brief examples as a reference evidences of the theory which focuses on obtaining in-depth knowledge of care and culture diversity.

The Giger and Davidhizar Transcultural Assessment Model was developed for undergraduate nursing students in 1988 by Joyce Newman Giger and Ruth Davidhizar. The assessment model provides a framework for nursing students to easily assess and provide care for patients from many different cultural backgrounds. Six cultural aspects are highlighted: communication, time, space, social organization, environmental control, and biological variations (Giger & Davidhizar, 2002).

Nowadays, nurses not only need to know how to care of their patients, but they also must be able to care of patients from other cultures with many beliefs and values. Cultural views of individual influence the patient’s perception and decision of health and health care (Creasia & Parker, 2007). In order to care for people across different languages and cultures, nurses need to develop cultural sensitivity, knowledge, and skills.

Giger and Davidhizar’s Transcultural Assessment Model is a valuable and functional assessment tool that evaluates the different cultural variables and how those variables effect health, illness and behaviors (Giger, 2013). This philosophy considers the uniqueness of each individual, understanding that the individual is unique, a product of their culture, religion, environment socioeconomic status and diversity. Giger and Dividhizar propose that, as health care providers, we need an acute awareness of the ethnicity and culture of each individual, having the knowledge and understanding to care for them as

The Transcultural Assessment Model, developed by Giger and Davidhizar (2006), focuses on assessment and intervention from a transcultural nursing perspective. In this model, the person is seen as a unique cultural being influenced by culture, ethnicity, and