Culturally Congruent Care: An Omani Reflection

Abstract

Culturally congruent care is possible if cultural values, expressions, or patterns are recognized and appropriately utilized while providing care [1]. Therefore, a culturally competent nursing education should include culturally diverse nursing educators that reflect the communities served, encourage students and educators to speak the service users’ language(s), and contend on the cultural values and traditions of the served communities (Anderson et al., 2003). Numerous authors [1-4] Purnell & Paulanka, 2003) argue that concepts such as cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, and cultural competence are essential in nursing education. They perceive these concepts as related to important nursing concepts such as health, illness, and care, which signify different things to diverse cultures or people. Thus, familiarity of cultural traditions would allow the healthcare providers to deliver better care and avoid misunderstandings between themselves and other healthcare providers, patients, and their families.