Investigation of Intercultural Sensitivity and Ethnocentrism Levels of Midwife Candidates in Turkey Sample: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: As women experience cultural practices during their lifespan, midwives’ displaying a culture-specific approach from the school years is of great importance for the quality of care. This study was conducted to determine the intercultural sensitivity and ethnocentrism levels of midwife candidates in Turkey. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 1,616 midwifery students who studied in seven different regions of Turkey in the 2018–2019 academic year. Data were collected through a questionnaire, Intercultural Sensitivity Scale, and Ethnocentrism Scale. Results: It was determined that the variables such as the region where the midwife candidates grew up and location of the university, their years at school, and having friends from different cultures were effective on their intercultural sensitivity and ethnocentrism levels ( p < .05). Discussion: Consequently, it is concluded that international student exchange programs and culture-sensitive-based care approaches during midwifery education will increase the intercultural sensitivity levels of students and contribute to reducing ethnocentrism levels.

Sağlık Bilimleri Öğrencilerinin Kültürlerarası Duyarlılıkları Üzerine Tanımlayıcı Bir Araştırma

“…Güner ve arkadaşlarının ebelik öğrencileri üzerinde yaptığı bir araştırmada uzun süre yaşanılan bölge, üniversitenin bulunduğu yerleşim birimi, farklı kültürlerden arkadaşlara sahip olmak gibi değişkenlerin kültürlerarası duyarlılık düzeyleri üzerinde etkili olduğu belirlenmiştir. 39 Özellikle son yıllarda farklı kültürlerden insanların büyük şehirlerde kalabalık ve yabancı bir ortam oluşturması, sosyal gerginliklere ilişkin deneyimler ve haberler katılımcı öğrencilerde negatif yönlü bir algıya neden olmuş olabilir.…”

Examination of individualised care behaviours and ethnocentrism of nurses caring for refugees: A descriptive and exploratory study

“…The hypothetical model conducted in this study showed that the nurses' ethnocentric attitudes negatively affect individualised care behaviours and that these two concepts had an inverse relationship. Culturally sensitive and adequate care is a process that allows individuals or families to be open to the preferences of other people by showing empathy for their life experiences, values, and beliefs (Charalambous et al, 2012; Çiftçi et al, 2021; Guner et al, 2021; Gungor et al, 2021).…”

“…In the study, three online instruments were used. First, an ad hoc 15‐item questionnaire was created based on the literature review (Guner et al, 2021; Karasu et al, 2022; Ozdemir, 2019). This questionnaire was used to collect descriptive and cultural background?…”

“…Culturally sensitive and adequate care is a process that allows individuals or families to be open to the preferences of other people by showing empathy for their life experiences, values, and beliefs (Charalambous et al, 2012;Çiftçi et al, 2021;Guner et al, 2021;Gungor et al, 2021).…”

“…Although individual-specific, culture-sensitive and culturally safe care are among the responsibilities of nurses, it has been stated that nurses can sometimes be ethnically centred and prejudiced due to a lack of knowledge, understanding, awareness, education and belief about culture and cultural competence (Gungor et al, 2021;Ozdemir, 2019;Yilmaz et al, 2021). Ethnocentrism (Bizumic, 2015;Chen, 2010), which is defined as the individual's believing in the superiority of his/her own culture and judging other cultures with the values of his/her own culture, may lead to patient alienation, inadequate treatment, misdiagnosis (Guner et al, 2021;Nameni, 2020) and culturally inappropriate service delivery (Danaci & Koç, 2020;Ozdemir, 2019).…”