Multicultural Areas of Practice

Everyday nursing in Australia involves looking after people from diverse and non-English speaking backgrounds. Nurses themselves come from a range of multicultural backgrounds.

It is important for nurses to realise that culture is about so much more than language or country of origin. Respecting and working together with another culture and beliefs should be an integral part of clinical practice. The speciality of palliative care focuses on valuing self-determination and respect for individual cultural values and belief systems.

However, the views of patients from some cultural backgrounds may be conflicted with palliative care principles, such as the transition from care with a curative intent. [1]

“Through culture, we define who we are, to what extent we conform to shared values, and how we contribute to community and society”. [2]
  

Related Evidence

Review Collection Clinical Evidence PubMed Search Topic
  1. Broom A, Good P, Kirby E, Lwin Z. Negotiating palliative care in the context of culturally and linguistically diverse patients. Intern Med J. 2013 Sep;43(9):1043-6.
  2. Clark D. Cultural considerations in planning palliative and end of life care. Palliat Med. 2012 Apr;26(3):195-6.

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Relevant Studies

Websites

Guidelines / Documents / Factsheets

Video

Audio

  • From SBS World News Australia: Rethinking palliative care – discusses the Culturally Responsive Palliative Care Project (Victoria)

Patients, Carers and Families 

GPs

CareSearch Videos have been translated into five languages (Arabic Cantonese, Greek, Italian and Mandarin)

Last updated 27 August 2018