Challenging Nurses’ Cultural Competence of Disability to Improve Interpersonal Interactions

Abstract

Worldwide, at least 6.9 billion people have an impairment producing health condition (IPHC). Insensitive encounters with health care providers (HCPs) can result in negative appraisals, fear, and avoidance, but little is known about what things are commonly perceived as insensitive. A review of published narratives describing negative encounters with HCPs was conducted. Narrative analysis was used to compare, contrast, and synthesize six themes describing the common negative encounters: (a) ignoring or minimizing their knowledge; (b) detached interpersonal interactions; (c) placing a negative skew on their life quality; (d) a lack of HCP knowledge related to their complete needs; (e) assuming they should be asexual and childless; and, (f) an inherent power differential. The medical model of disability is perceived by individuals with IPHCs to inform negative encounters perceived as insensitive. This preliminary knowledge is important so we can address education needs, plan future research questions, and establish clinical practice improvements.

Experiences of giving and receiving care in traumatic brain injury: An integrative review

“…Collaboratively identifying care challenges and setting realistic goals can support productive partnerships and acknowledge personhood through a reciprocal understanding between people with TBI and nurses (Lefebvre & Levert, ). Furthermore, cultural competence training may reveal diverse customs and beliefs which can then contribute to a deeper understanding of personal care needs and other factors that support the framing of culturally congruent health care (Roscigno, ). To reduce people with TBIs’ sense of being restrained and controlled, routine formal falls risk screening may identify risks that are actual and individualised, rather than inferred through a restrictive blanket approach (Spoelstra, Given, & Given, ). Similarly, aggression risk or violence risk screening may enable early identification of challenging behaviour and support the timely enactment of individualised preventative measures which are more humane. Novice nurses need to be well‐orientated to the TBI care environment.…”

Shifting the discourse on disability: Moving to an inclusive, intersectional focus.

“…In Westernized communities, disability has historically been conceptualized via the medical model, which considers disability to be an individual-level deficit in need of correction (Marks, 1996). Although the medical model offers key advantages (e.g., standardizing diagnoses for health care providers), it lacks consideration for how converging systemic and interpersonal factors (e.g., stigma, objectification by health care providers; Roscigno, 2013) adversely affect the health, quality of life, and ability to access key resources among disabled people (Clare, 2001, 2019). To address shortcomings of historical models of disability, alternate frameworks have been proposed by individuals within disability communities.…”

“…standardizing diagnoses for health care providers), it lacks consideration for how converging systemic and interpersonal factors (e.g., stigma, objectification by health care providers; Roscigno, 2013) adversely affect the health, quality of life, and ability to access key resources among disabled people (Clare, 2001(Clare, , 2019. To address shortcomings of historical models of disability, alternate frameworks have been proposed by individuals within disability communities.…”

Nursing Students' Views and Suggestions Regarding the Disability-Friendly Nursing Education Curriculum: A Mixed Method Research

“…The WHO indicates that health workers have insufficient knowledge and competence about disability as one of the reasons for the inequalities faced by people with disabilities in the field of health 4 . Studies conducted with healthcare professionals point to negative attitudes towards disability as well as insufficient knowledge among healthcare professionals and show that most healthcare professionals evaluate disability within the framework of the medical model [5][6][7][8][9] . According to Gonzalez and Hsiao (2020), disability is handled mainly within the framework of the medical model in nursing education, and individuals with disabilities are not considered as a diversity of society 10 .…”