Challenges and approaches to transcultural care: An integrative review of nurses' and nursing students' experiences

Abstract Background Provision of transcultural care is an essential nursing competency. It is important to comprehensively understand the challenges nurses and nursing students face while striving to provide transcultural care in clinical settings. Purpose The purpose of this review was to develop a comprehensive understanding of nurses' and nursing students' challenges and approaches to the provision of transcultural care to people with diverse ethnicities. Methods An integrative review was conducted. Literature was searched within five databases, and 30 studies published from January 2010 to January 2021 were reviewed and appraised using mixed methods critical appraisal tool. Literature summary tables and inductive approaches were used for data extraction and synthesis. Results The challenges to the provision of transcultural care were intrapersonal struggle, cultural conflicts, varied expressions of pain and suffering, and navigation of personal and organizational constraints. Addressing these challenges required nurses and students to practice self-criticism and tolerate differences, develop interpersonal and psychological skills, and collaborate with peers and patients' families. Conclusions Provision of transcultural care is a complex task for nurses and students because of different interpretation of personal and organizational factors. Health care institutions should proactively provide resources to nurses and students to strengthen their interpersonal and psychological skills to provide effective transcultural care.