Define culture, traditions. Moral, language, cultural competency and its relevance in health care and nursing

Determine the cultural diversity of country (your country of origin or specific area of practice)

Establish culturally-safe practices or approaches to culture and diversity in nursing practice"

 Culture and Traditions

Culture encompasses the set of norms, attitudes, behaviors, and activities that are acquired and adopted within a certain population and are enduring in nature. Cultural practices are the practices performed by the people of a particular culture and are intended to maintain culture, including ceremonial activities like festivities and ceremonies, holiday customs. For instance, the Filipino people value family, especially elderly people, being hospitable, and having an appropriate cultural carnival, for example, the Pahiyas harvest festival, where Filipino houses are decorated, and festive meals are prepared.

Morals, Language and Relation to Health Care

Morals can be defined as standards of conduct that are acceptable in the society or have been set by the society. Attitudes with regards to matters of morality such as euthanasia may also differ greatly across culture. Language is an essential aspect of culture and cultural affiliations. This position suggests that due to language barriers, communication is poor and therefore can harm the health of the patients. Healthcare cultural competence therefore refers to the capacity to appreciate and manage difference in culture in relation to values, beliefs, and practices in communication and behavior with the aim of enhancing health outcomes. Cultural competence eliminates disparities and gaps, encourages patient access to care, facilitates good medical provider and patient interactions, and results in enhanced compliance with treatment regimens and consequently, better health. 

Cultural Diversity is a very important topic especially in countries like the Philippines which is a melting pot of different cultures.

The Philippines has got a rich culture that has got hints of South East Asia, Spanish and American influence. Today there are more than 175 ethnolinguistic groups which are Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano and Bicolano peoples. The value placed on family and community is paramount, and there is a system of generational interconnectedness. Religion is also significant in Filipino culture, specifically the Roman Catholic faith, which is practiced by a large majority of the population. Elders are respected. Although there is a relative increase in the involvement of women in the civil population, gender roles are still quite conventional. As for the cultural differences, some general Filipino culture aspects can be noted, such as hospitable, hierarchal, familial, and joyful. Another related issue is that of superstition, which is also regarded as rather widespread. The cultural beliefs and practice concerning health, illness and death are different across the world therefore to cater for Filipino patients, the care provider should have adequate information on the cultural practices of the Filipino and adjust where necessary.

Culturally Safe Nursing Practices 

The concept of culturally safe nursing care must encompass acknowledgement of a patient’s social, cultural or religious affiliation, built trust and not undermine the patient’s cultural status. Examples include:

- Exploring patients’ beliefs, traditional and culture practices 

- The need to ensure that the patient and providers can understand each other in cases where there is a language barrier by providing interpretation.

- In other words, there are cultures that tend to feel more at ease with providers of the same gender.

- Identifying and evaluating potential health beliefs and co-establishing suitable health plans

- A process of defining sociological factors that could potentially influence the state of health

- Promoting the right policies and care models for individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds in an organization

Adherence to these recommendations results in effective healthy encounters and health outcomes for ethnically diverse patients.

In general, cultural competence, understanding, and respect are crucial for nurses involved in the care of multicultural patients and the elimination of disparities—especially regarding the patients in this area that may require special attention according to regional demographics.