INTERCULTURAL NURSING: A CHALLENGE IN CURRENT SOCIETY

Abstract

This article analizes the role of the patients' culture in the nursing health care. It sustains that patient's values and beliefs must take into account in the nursing planning. The issue of cultural diversity becomes fundamental within societies with both high rates of indigenous people, such as some places in Chile, and migration.The nursing challenge is to achieve a communication process that reinforces the patient's culture and at the same time incorporates some cultural elements into the therapeutic process. Transcultural Nursing is defined as a model of nursing health care that preserves the patient's culture and achieves cultural agreement when the situation is critical.