Central to providing culturally appropriate nursing care is sensitivity to and knowledge about the group being cared for. Although "mental health" and "mental illness" are artificial concepts among people who do not differentiate and treat mind, body, and spirit separately, and who may not differentiate illness from other problems of living, many individuals ethnically rooted in one or more Asian cultures enter Western mental health care systems. Quality nursing care requires understanding and respect for traditional values, beliefs, and practices that may differ significantly from those typical of Western European-based societies. Whether clients are traditional in orientation or highly acculturated to Western ways, nurses are responsible for providing culturally appropriate care. This article discusses mental health and nursing care from various perspectives of Asian and Asian-American clients, and in particular those of Chinese descent.

Addressing how nurses become culturally competent is essential for knowledge development beyond why sociocultural understandings are important. This article reports participatory research conducted during intercultural immersion learning experiences of non-native nurses on an Indian reservation. Emphasizing collaborative relationships within unfamiliar social, political, and economic circumstances, and using Diekelmann's "concernful practices" as an organizing scheme, prompted participants to explicate practices that promote intercultural connecting. Suggesting integral shifts in value orientations with changes in cultural competence, the findings argue for attending to associations between those dynamics and potential for developing co-responsibility (with consumer groups) for advocating improved health and health care.