Nurses of NESB working in a multicultural community

Abstract

Ensuring that the cultural composition of the nursing population reflects the multicultural mix of the general population assumes that culturally appropriate care will occur when people of non-English background (NESB) are encountered in nursing practice. In a feminist praxis study involving twenty-six nurse participants, seven of whom were of NESB, the nurses discovered that the structure of the health care institution not only overlooked the cultural and linguistic needs of children and NESB families, but also created a dominant Anglo-Australian health culture that taught NESB nurses to ignore the traditions and practices of their NESB culture. This paper will explore the nurses’ discovery of their own collusion in sustaining an Anglo-Australian health care culture.

Key words:

• Multiculturalism
• Nurses of NESB
• Participatory action research