Cultural Diversity: African-American Family Roles and Nursing Implications

Cultural Diversity Assignment
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Abstract
This paper examines how African-American culture influences family roles and impacts nursing care in the United States, mainly focusing on pediatric, maternal, and newborn healthcare. Through exploring the aspects of African-American family structures, healthcare inequalities, and traditional values, this paper aims to help nurses understand the dynamics of culturally competent care. Families in this cultural domain stress the essence of extended familial systems, sometimes depending on matriarchs for spiritual and emotional guidance. Comprehending such dynamics is crucial for enhancing trust, maintaining patient-centered care, and promoting effective communication. The paper underpins the significance of community engagement, respect for elders, cultural sensitivity, family involvement, and health promotion in nursing practice in African-American culture.
Keywords: family roles, nursing care, cultural competence, African-American culture, maternal and pediatric healthcare
Cultural competence is integral in contemporary nursing practice, specifically in diverse patient populations. The African-American culture in the United States is crucial considering its particular cultural practices, values, and beliefs, which essentially impact interactions with healthcare practitioners and healthcare decisions. This paper focuses on the effects of African-American culture on family roles and how such understanding can promote the quality of pediatric, maternal, and newborn care. In this case, comprehending the complexities of family structures in African-American culture, the significance of elderly females, and the impacts of extended family presents as imperative for healthcare practitioners. This paper offers valuable insights into such dynamics and their implications for nursing practice. It underscores the need for cultural competence and sensitivity when delivering patient care to African Americans in maternal and pediatric healthcare.
African-American Family Roles
The African-American culture stresses the significance of family structure, which essentially impacts healthcare decisions and various aspects of pediatric, maternal, and newborn care. Families in the cultural context sometimes go beyond the nuclear unit, involving a more comprehensive network of close friends and relatives. An older woman or matriarch figure often assumes an instrumental role in such extended families, acting as the spiritual and emotional anchor. She offers wisdom, guidance, and support during challenging or vital life events, such as childbirth and the following immediate child-rearing periods. The members of the families accord such a matriarchal figure with utmost reverence and respect, with her preferences and opinions frequently modeling family healthcare decisions and choices. Also, the concept of a joint village significantly resonates with the African-American community, demonstrating the support system and collective responsibility within the family. Ultimately, such kinship networks and family units offer significant support to caregivers (Johnson et al., 2021).
The extended family formation commonly witnessed in African-American households promotes a sense of unity and interconnectedness among the family members. The extended family joins in during challenging times to help with childcare, offer emotional support, and share responsibilities during crucial healthcare times. Subsequently, nurses should acknowledge and respect such extended family dynamics, recognizing the significant contributions the parents and other family members like grandparents, uncles, aunts, and close friends offer in healthcare decision-making. Family is a critical source of support for the African-American community (Okoro et al., 2022). Comprehending the integral part played by the family, specifically elderly females, is vital in developing trust, structuring nursing care, and fostering open communication to support the cultural beliefs and values of African-American patients and their families.
Nursing Implications
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