Nurse practitioners' contributions to cultural competence in primary care settings.
OBJECTIVE
To document unique ways Nurse Practitioners (NPs) contribute to the delivery of culturally competent healthcare to diverse and underserved patient populations in urban primary care practices.


METHODS
Data are from a multi-year, multi-site study and includes 50 intensive interviews with healthcare professionals and repeated observations at three urban primary health clinics in a Northeastern U.S. city.


CONCLUSIONS
Different healthcare professionals reported common perspectives on cultural competence dealing with distinctive patient communities, including altruistic motivations, advocacy, and addressing root causes while treating diverse patients. What made NPs distinct among healthcare workers in this study was the comprehensiveness of their cultural competence approaches, both in patient interactions and within healthcare teams. NPs established culturally sensitive partnerships with patients, encouraged self-advocacy, addressed contextual considerations, and adjusted practices to meet the patient needs. They also developed niches in multidisciplinary teams that emphasized holistic approaches to establish trust and to cross cultural boundaries, both with other health professionals and their diverse patients.
Department of Rehabilitation Science, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14214-3079, USA. mmatte@buffalo.edu
Mary A
MA
Matteliano
Debra
D
Street
D054521:Cultural Competency; D006801:Humans; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D024802:Nurse's Role; D010348:Patient Care Team; D059017:Primary Care Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D014481:United States