A Review of the Concept of Culture in Holistic Nursing Literature

Abstract

Core Value IV of the American Holistic Nurses’ Association includes valuing the client’s cultural background. The authors reviewed all article abstracts from two major holistic nursing journals for a 3-year period (N =198). References to concepts of culture or ethnicity were found in only 9.6% of abstracts. Many theorists and researchers did not discuss how the theory or research findings varied between culturally or ethnically diverse samples. When culture is a core value, practitioners and researchers cannot assume that culture has been considered without stating what was the interaction of culture with the phenomenon of concern. The authors recommend that nurses develop cultural competence in caring for clients from differing cultural orientations by (a) committing to improve their knowledge of multiple cultures; (b) exploring their own cultural background; (c) seeking exposure to cultures other than their own; and (d) regularly discussing culture and ethnicity in nursing theory, research, and practice.