Culture and Caring Theories: Madeleine Leininger’s Culture Care Theory
several nursing theories guide the nursing practice. As a nursing practitioner, one of the theories that most resonates with me is Madeleine Leininger’s Culture Care Theory, also known as the transcultural theory. The culture care theory emphasizes culture and care as the core concepts in nursing practice (Wehbe-Alamah, 2015). the culture care theory helps to address social issues such as racism. The culture care theory also helps to create an inclusive environment by fostering diversity and cultural competence.
Madeleine Leininger’s Culture Care Theory integration with the nursing paradigm.
There are four paradigms In nursing, namely, the person, the environment, health, and nursing. These four paradigms form the basis of patient care. Madeleine Leininger’s Culture Care Theory integrates well with the nursing theory. According to Madeleine Leininger’s Culture Care Theory, a nursing practitioner should focus on person-centered needs to provide patients with unique care depending on their culture and beliefs (Wehbe-Alamah, 2015). Studies have shown that patients recover from illness better when cultural and spiritual needs are respected during treatment (Butts & Rich, 2018). the theory also emphasizes on the consideration of a patient’s environmental background during treatment(Wehbe-Alamah, 2015). A person’s environment dictates their world view and experiences. For instance, in mental healthcare, a person’s environment can shed light on the cause of their mental struggles.
How I identify with Madeleine Leininger’s Culture Care Theory
As a nursing practitioner, I identify with the person-centered aspect of Madeleine Leininger’s Culture Care Theory. The provision of person-centered care in nursing goes a long way in ensuring that patients receive quality care.
In person-centered care, a patient’s cultural background is put into consideration when choosing the course of treatment. People have different cultural beliefs that may hinder their healing progress (McCormack & McCance, 2017). For example, some cultures do not agree with modern medicine. When attending to a patient who may not want modern forms of treatment, the nursing practitioner needs to find ways of talking to the patient about the advantages of modern medicine and how the patient can incorporate their culture with modern science. The nursing practitioner, however, needs to understand the importance of patient autonomy in treatment.
Patient-centered care also emphasizes the need to respect a patient’s religious beliefs in administering care. People’s religious beliefs determine how they view certain aspects of life, including illness and treatment (McCormack & McCance, 2017). When caring for a religious patient, it is essential to respect their need for religious practices such as prayer before they make significant decisions or their refusal of some methods of treatment. For example, some Christian sects do not believe in modern forms of contraception—these patients need to be taught alternative methods of contraception that may be acceptable to their religion.
Madeleine Leininger’s Culture Care Theory concerning CLAS standards of health equity.
The Madeleine Leininger’s Culture Care Theory meets the CLAS standards of advanced health equity by promoting respectful, understandable, and equitable healthcare and services by respecting people’s cultures and beliefs. The theory meets the governance and leadership standards by ensuring that emphasizing the need for nursing practitioners to receive training on linguistics, culture, and policies that govern nursing care (Purnell, 2005). the theory meets the standards by tackling communication issues such as the language barrier. The focus on individuality helps nurses to determine how to help a patient by speaking their language or having a translator to aid inpatient care. The theory is engaging in the sense that it promotes the relationship between nurses and individual patients. The theory encourages nursing practitioners to view patients as human beings rather than just subjects for treatment.
References
Butts, B. J. & Rich, L. K. (2018). Philosophies and theories for advanced nursing practice (3rd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning. Chapters 22, 23?
McCormack, B., & McCance, T. (2017). Person-centered practice in nursing and health care. Theory and practice (2nd ed.). Wiley Blackwell.?
Purnell, L. (2005). The Purnell model for cultural competence.? The Journal of Multicultural Nursing & Health, 11(2), 7-15. https;//doi.org/10.1177/10459602013003006
Wehbe-Alamah H. I. B. A. (2015). Madeleine Leininger’s theory of culture care diversity and universality. Nursing theories and nursing practice, 303.