Healthcare provision needs to be equal and fair to all the patients, despite their cultural backgrounds. The following schemes are critical in a culturally diverse society. Nurses and medical care organizations should employ them to ensure superior health quality to multicultural populations. According to Douglas et al. (2009), healthcare institutions should avail a physical environment that satisfies the needs of the diverse patients. This includes the personnel and the equipment used in the organization. The strategy will ensure that the healthcare organization is prepared to serve clients from different cultures. To ensure a well-organized plan for it, an inventory should be obtained to have a glimpse of the cultural composition of the population near the medical facility, and those that are likely to visit the area.
Another strategy is patient empowerment. This means that the nurses allow their patient’s view and cultural practice to be included in the health care plans. Douglas et al. (2009) explain that nurses should encourage adoption of the patients’ cultures in health care provision. The authors assert that patients have different backgrounds, which makes them unique. Nurses also develop a positive attitude that is required in the healing process when they realize that they are treated as significant people.
These schemes are suitable for the Asian patients because this group has a strong cultural attachment. Inclusion of their cultural preferences will promote rapid healing. Another reason is the language barrier that might prevent the nurses from effectively communicating with their clients. The strategies to be implemented will ensure that the healthcare organization recognizes the needs of the patients as their responsibility.
There are barriers that prevent efficient health care services. According to the National Health Care for the Homeless Council (2011), the language barrier can be broken by having the staff trained on more than one language. This can be done on the key aspects that are addressed in basic communication. The Center for Medicare Advocacy (2010) adds that organizations should also be culturally competent in their services to address diverse ethnic groups.
A questionnaire that will assess the organization’s cultural competence as well as that of the nurses and patients can be a tool to evaluate the effectiveness of healthcare plan. The questionnaire will evaluate nurses on their changes in perception and understanding of cultural competence (Walker, 2013). Another questionnaire will be crafted to evaluate the organization’s improvement in cultural competence and the ability to handle patients from different cultural groups. Apart from the questionnaires, discussions can be held in the concerned healthcare facility and with the nurses. Random questions that will seek to establish the level of cultural competency acquired will be raised. The questionnaires will also establish the satisfaction of the patients. This includes whether the nurses can understand the basic culture of different communities.
The results will be collected using a spreadsheet and others will be recorded on audio capturing devices for further use. This happens within a specified period. According to Allison (2013), designated people, such as clinical coordinators should be entrusted with the task of data collection. This will ensure data is collected about the organization, patients and nurses. A specified standard will be used to determine the effectiveness of the plan of health care.
The weakness that may be experienced is that the organizations may not be able to implement cultural competence for all the cultural groups present. To overcome this drawback, an information system may be used to provide basic communication procedures for the other ethnic groups.
References
Allison, L.G. (2009). Evaluation of cultural competence: program, students, and community effects. Web.
Center for Medicare Advocacy Inc. (2010). Cultural competence and language appropriateness in the provision of Medicare services and notices. Web.
Douglas, M.K. et al. (2009). Standards of practice for culturally competent nursing care: a request for comments.Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 20(3), 257-269. Web.
National Health Care for the Homeless Council. (2011). Addressing cultural and linguistic competence in the HCH setting: a brief guide. Web.
Walker, R. (2013). Evaluation of the cultural competence audit toolkit. Web.