Culturally Competent Health Care

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Factors that Influence Access to Health Care
The Affordable Care Act passed in 2010 and the exchange plan implemented in 2012 has broken down some of the barriers that were affecting the Hispanic community. Prior to the Affordable Care Act, the Office of Minority Health identified the Hispanic community as one of the most vulnerable population in the U.S. In addition, the OMH mandated the usage of cultural and linguistic competent care in all health care facilities.
The implementation of providing a culturally and linguistically competent care and the Affordable Care Act was superseded by the report from the Institute of Medicine “To Err is Human” in which the IOM identified discrepancy within the health care system where patients safety was greatly compromised (IOM, 1999). The report by the IOM opened up a dialogue within the health care industry as well as Congress and City and State governmental bodies. Because of the findings in “To Err is Human” regulations such as providing care that is sensitive to the patient’s belief, value and background were implemented.
Nursing also with the aid of theorists such as Madeline Leininger and Hildegard E. Peplau has evolved from an area of purely science to involve humanistic theories such as providing care that is culturally sensitive and forging a relationship with the patient to ensure patient safety and alleviation of illness.
As a profession, nursing involves caring. Caring for the patient, the family and for each other is the fabric of the nursing profession. Additionally, The American Nurses Association code of ethics mandate nurses to behave in a just manner where every patient is given autonomy and is treated with dignity (ANA, 2000). In order to treat patients wi...

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