The Transcultural Nursing Theory

Madeleine Leininger is the creator of the concept "Transcultural Nursing". Early in Leininger 's nursing career, she recognized there was a deficiency of care and cultural knowledge while practicing at a child guidance home (Sitzman, & Eichelberger, 2011). She discovered these absences to be the reason for various disparities as to why nurses lacked the knowledge required to deliver culturally proficient care. She then founded the transcultural-nursing theory and created eight reasons of why transcultural nursing was a necessary specialty. Transcultural nursing is defined as a meaningful area of study and practice that focuses on culturally diverse beliefs, feelings, values, and practices (Andrews & Boyle, 2016).
Leininger developed these eight

Patient of various cultures have different rituals, beliefs and customs once a patient has passed. It is within the nurse’s best practice to honor and respect the family’s cultures and beliefs to help cope. Various cultures perceive death differently. For example in the Muslim community rituals are performed including bathing, shrouding the body, which is then followed by the prayer. Another example of cultural sensitivity is language. There are two types of language when communicating with patients; verbal and non-verbal. Culturally effective communication is a key factor to the nurse-patient relationship. For instance, English may be a patient’s second language; this may interfere with communication and adds more stress to the situation for the patient. Healthcare providers can provide patients with an interpreter or language line to ensure there is a clear understand of the patient 's treatment plan. This can improve patient outcomes and avoid disparities. The third example of how nurses can provide culturally sensitive care is by becoming aware of cultural sensitive diets. Many ethnic cultures have strict diet guidelines. A nurse can simply consult nutrition and help accommodate a modified diet. This will show respect, in turn improving the comfort level, trust, and respect between the nurse and patient. For example, the Islamic community does not eat pork, animals with a cloven hoof, or alcohol. These are just a few examples of how healthcare providers can provide culturally sensitive care and improve continuity, satisfaction and respect in