Nurses’ Perceptions of Basic Palliative Care in the Hmong Population

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to describe basic palliative care from the acute care nurses’ perspective with consideration for culturally diverse populations. Participants focused their responses based on their experiences with Hmong patients. The concept of cultural safety was explored to improve basic palliative care practice in acute care settings. Method: A qualitative approach was utilized. Thirty-four nurses participated in either focus group or individual interviews. Results: Assisting tradition, understanding culture, and managing language barriers were identified as themes unique to providing basic palliative care to Hmong patients. Discussion: Nurses experienced uncertainty and inadequacy of resources when caring for patients from a Hmong background. Nurses also recognized the strong family ties in this specific population and the importance of supporting tradition while in the hospital. Utilizing Wood and Schwass’ framework of cultural safety could guide nurses providing basic palliative care to Hmong patients and other culturally diverse patients.