By: Darlene G. Cardinal

General Objectives:At the end of the discussion,

graduate students will be able to understand Transcultural Theory and its application to nursing practice.

be able to know the history and source of the theorybe able to differentiate cultural diversity and cultural universalitybe able to understand the metaparadigm in nursingbe able to analyze and apply the theory to current situation

Specific Objectives:

o Dr. Leininger is the founder of transcultural nursing.

o Initiated this field of nursing in the mid-1950s.

o Born in Sutton, Nebraska, lived on a farm with two brothers and sisters.

o Attended Sutton High School, Scholastica College, the Catholic University of America in DC, and the University of Washington, Seattle

o She brought nursing and anthropology together and coined the term transcultural nursing as an essential formal area of study and practice.

o Her Culture Care Diversity & Universality theory was one of the earliest nursing theories and it remains the only theory focused specifically on transcultural nursing with a culture care focus. Her theory is used worldwide. 

o Dr. Leininger was the first professional nurse with a graduate preparation to complete a PhD in anthropology.

Theoretical Source:Derived from the discipline of

Anthropology. Conceptualized the theory to be relevant to nursing.

Leininger recognized that one of the most important contributions of Anthropology to nursing is the realization that health and illness states are strongly influenced by culture.

Metaparadigm in nursingNursing – care has the greatest meaning which explains nursing

Person – not only refers to individual but families, groups and communities

Health – not distinct to nursing as many disciplines use this term

Environment – included events with meanings and interpretations given to them in particular physical, ecological, socio-political, or cultural setting

Theoritical Assertion/ Major Concepts

Care – assist others with real or anticipated needs to promote health and wellnessCulture – learned, shared, and transmitted values, beliefs, norms of a group that influences behaviorCulture Care – aspects of culture that influence or enable a person to deal with illness or deathCulture Care Diversity – differences in meanings, values, or care of different groups of peopleCulture Care Universality – common care or similarities among cultures

Emic perspective of Culture – refers to an insider’s views and knowledge of the cultureEtic perspective of Culture – means the outsider’s viewpoints of the culture and reflects more on professional angles of nursing.Transcultural Nursing – branch of nursing which focuses upon the comparative study and analysis of cultures with respect to nursing and health-illness caring practices, beliefs and valuesCultural Competence – a combination of culturally congruent behaviors, practice attitudes, and policies that allow nurses to work affectively in cross cultural situationsCulture Congruent Care – cognitively based assistive, supportive, facilitative , or enabling acts or decisions that are tailor- made to fit with individual, group, or institutional cultural values, beliefs and life ways in order to provide or support meaningful, beneficial and satisfying healthcare or well- being services

3 Modes of Nursing Care decisions and actions

Culture care preservation/maintenancehelp people of a particular culture to retain and/or preserve

relevant care values so that they can maintain their well-being, recover from illness, or face handicaps and/or death

Culture care accommodation/negotiationhelp people of a designated culture to adapt to or to negotiate with others for beneficial or satisfying health outcomes

Culture care re-patterning / reconstructinghelp clients reorder, change, or greatly modify their life ways for new, different, and beneficial health care patterns while respecting the clients cultural values and belief

Acceptance by the Nursing Community

Practice - accepted in nursing practice- provides new insights related to nursing and

transcultural nursingEducation - a critical need remains for nurses to be educated in transcultural nursing in undergraduate and graduate programs

- educational preparations remains weak and is limited for nurses worldwideResearch - Leininger’s Culture care theory has been used for research by nurses

- Transcultural nurses have stimulated other nurses to pursue research and discover new knowledge in nursing

Analysis

Simplicity – not simple; truly transcultural, global in scope and highly complex; holistic and comprehensive.Generality – general; qualitatively-oriented theory that is broad, comprehensive and worldwide in scope, useful and applicable to groups and individuals with the goal of rendering culture-specific nursing care.Empirical Precision – researchable; qualitative research has been the primary paradigm to discover largely unknown phenomena of care and health to diverse cultures.Derivable Consequences – the theory is useful, applicable and essential to nursing practice, education and research. It could be the means to establish a sound and defensible discipline and profession.