Oncology health workers’ views and experiences on caring for ethnic minority patients: A mixed method systematic review

ObjectivesTo investigate what published research reveals about the views and experiences of oncology health workers when caring for ethnic minority patients.DesignSystematic review of qualitative and quantitative studies.Data sourcesThe following databases were systematically screened: PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and AnthroSource. Reference lists were checked for additional articles.Review methodsEmpirical studies or systematic reviews (1/2000 to 12/2013) were included if they concerned the oncology setting and the views or experiences of healthcare workers and care users belonging to an ethnic or cultural minority group. The methodological quality of each individual study was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme for Qualitative Studies and the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies.ResultsEighteen publications met the inclusion criteria. Thirteen articles had a qualitative, four a quantitative, and one a mixed methods design. The results in the individual studies were heterogeneous. Most studies reported challenges or barriers when caring for ethnic minority patients, whereas fewer than half of the articles discussed facilitating factors and opportunities. Oncology health workers participating in the included studies sought to provide professional standards of care and tried to adapt care to the needs of ethnic minority patients. However, they experienced formidable communication barriers and they feared doing things that might be considered culturally insensitive. The organizational aspects of care for the oncology patient appeared to have a significant influence on how healthcare providers view and experience oncology care for ethnic minority patients.ConclusionsViews and experiences of participating oncology health workers were characterized by a willingness to provide proper care for ethnic minority patients, but this was hampered by a tangle of interrelated issues such as linguistic barriers, fear and uncertainty, and assumptions about cultural matters. Organizational aspects were shown to be a strong influence on healthcare workers caring for ethnic minority patients. Due to methodological limitations of the included studies, conclusions should be viewed with caution.     

Synthesis of researcher reported strategies to recruit adults of ethnic minorities to clinical trials in the United Kingdom: A systematic review

BackgroundPeople from ethnic minorities are reported to have higher rates of physical illness (diabetes and ischemic heart disease) and mental disorders. Disparities relate not just to diagnosis, but also to care pathways and treatment outcomes. Despite this, they are underrepresented in clinical research. This reduces the generalisability of research findings across multi ethnic populations and hinders the development of accessible services. Researchers often face difficulties in recruiting ethnic minority participants to clinical research due to low levels of cultural competence and limited resources. There are few published trials focusing on ethnic minorities in the UK and we need to understand what recruitment strategies have already been implemented and recommended when recruiting ethnic participants. This will help researchers in applying these lessons to future clinical trials.MethodTo identify strategies for recruiting ethnic minorities to clinical trials in the UK a systematic review of published randomised controlled trials (RCT) exclusively targeting ethnic minorities was conducted. Multiple databases were searched by combining the terms “ethnic minorities”, “randomised controlled trials” and “United Kingdom”. Data was extracted on recruitment strategies described by each RCT and then themes were created.ResultsTwenty-one included RCT's identified various strategies to recruit ethnic communities to clinical trials. These have been described under three overarching themes; adaptation of screening and outcome measures, culturally specific recruitment training and recruitment processes.ConclusionThe review highlighted that researchers employed limited strategies to enhance the recruitment level. The full extent of the use of strategies was not described well in the publications. There is a need for wider training and support for the trialist to enhance and build up recruitment skills to facilitate the recruitment of ethnic minorities to clinical trials.     

End-of-life care for ethnic minority groups

Death and dying are profound events that bring into focus important ethical and medical questions for all patients, whatever their cultural background. For ethnic minority groups and their families, specific issues or barriers may arise related to culturally appropriate health care practices, cultural or religious differences, diverse health beliefs, and access to services for care and support during end-of-life conditions. National policy and local initiatives in both the United States and the United Kingdom support the development of services that address the care of ethnic minorities. This article examines end-of-life care for ethnic minority groups.     

A Glance at the Future of Cultural Competency in Healthcare

Cultural competency was first articulated in the 1980s to address the issues of discrimination and disparities in the provision of healthcare services. Since then, countless efforts have been made to educate and train a culturally competent healthcare task force. As the current US government unveils its healthcare reform, one might wonder what will be the future of the cultural competency in health care. The question is even more pertinent if the upcoming demographic shift of the US population is added to the picture. The most recent data from the Census Bureau stated that Asians and Hispanics are the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the US population.¹ Therefore the majority of the patients receiving primary and preventive care under the changes with the Affordable Care Act will be among today’s minority groups. So more than ever before, time needs to be spent on analysis and discussion of how these important changes will shape the quality of care that ought to be culturally sensitive as an aspect of delivery of excellent care.     

Palliative Care in the Greater China Region: A Systematic Review of Needs,Models, and Outcomes

ContextThere is rapidly increasing need for palliative care in Greater China because of rapidly aging populations.ObjectivesThis study aimed to systematically review and appraise evidence for palliative care needs, models of care, interventions, and outcomes in Greater China.MethodsFour databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO) were searched, with hand searching of local journals and databases. Narrative synthesis was applied to the qualitative and quantitative evidence.ResultsNineteen qualitative studies and 47 quantitative studies were retained. With respect to care needs, nine themes were synthesized: pain control, reduced aggressive end-of-life care, truth telling, physical, emotional, and spiritual supports, and achieving preferred place of care/death. Informal caregivers expressed their needs for education and burden reduction. Health care professionals called for training and national policy support. Twenty-four studies evaluated interventions, mostly among patients with advanced cancer. Positive effects were suggested for improvements in quality of life, pain, anxiety and depression, readmission rate, and costs. Models of care evaluated were mostly specialist palliative care delivered in various settings (hospitals, residential care, and home). Outcome measures used were grouped into six categories of construct: quality of life, pain, physical assessment, psychospiritual assessment, quality of care, and implementation assessment. Limited rigorous randomized controlled trials are available to document intervention outcomes, and some problems (such as high attrition rates) reduced the strength of the evidence.ConclusionPalliative care services within Greater China should pay more attention to management of nonmalignant disease and to integration into primary services. Policy support is key to establishing culturally appropriate person-centered services.     

Culture,palliative care and multiculturalism

The frequently asked question, 'Why do minority ethnic groups not access palliative care?' needs closer analysis. This article sets out to revisit the context and principles of palliative care and discuss why palliative care services are not accessed equally by all cultural groups in western, particularly UK, society. The conceptual basis of culture, together with cultural diversity, will be discussed to foster greater understanding of multiculturalism with a view to offering recommendations for the provision of culturally sensitive palliative care. These recommendations will seek to be challenging but realistic, both for practitioners providing such care and for educationalist disseminating 'knowledge'. I will highlight what I believe are the challenges of providing palliative care that is acceptable to minority ethnic groups based on personal experience and literature, and emphasize that these challenges should be seen as potential opportunities. It is hoped that this article will set a platform for honest and open discussion about the way forward in providing culturally sensitive palliative care for minority ethic groups. I will pose a challenging call to all members of minority ethnic groups to adopt a more proactive approach to their own care by preparing themselves to be in an influential position in palliative care provision through academic and clinical endeavours.     

The (un)-certainties of district nurses in the context of cultural diversity

AIM: This paper is a report of part of a study exploring district nurses' understanding and practices in relation to discrimination and inequalities issues. BACKGROUND: Clients from minority ethnic groups continue to experience inequalities in health status and care provision. District nurses work with a wide range of clients, yet research has demonstrated inequities in service provision to clients from minority ethnic groups due to organizational, professional and personal constraints. METHODS: A qualitative methodology was used to explore district nurses' understanding of discrimination and equalities issues in the context of their work. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken during 2003 with 18 district nurses employed in two primary care organizations in England providing healthcare services to a large and culturally diverse population. FINDINGS: District nurses' accounts were marked by uncertainty, suggesting that many lacked confidence when discussing issues of ethnicity and cultural difference. There were marked differences in the extent to which they appeared to recognize or engage with clients' experiences of discrimination or inequalities, or to recognize inequitable service provision to clients from minority ethnic groups. Key issues were a lack of provision of district nursing services to some clients, and failures to meet clients' language and communication needs, and although reflecting organizational constraints, such continuing inequities were largely unquestioned. CONCLUSION: There is a need for further educational and practice developments to enable district nurses to provide more equitable care to clients from culturally diverse communities, ensuring that the key professional discourse of individual care and advocacy are fully realized in their work with all clients.     

Can mental healthcare for Muslim patients be person-centred without consideration of religious identity? A concurrent analysis

BackgroundMuslims constitute the largest, fastest growing religious minority in the UK. Globally, nurses are legally, morally and ethically obliged to provide non-discriminatory, person-centred, culturally sensitive care. This obligation includes supporting people with their religious needs where appropriate, but there is evidence this is not always happening, particularly for Muslims in mental health care.AimsThis paper reviewed primary research to address the question: Can mental healthcare for Muslims be person-centred without consideration of religious identity?MethodsNarrative synthesis and concurrent analysis. Searches were conducted post 2000 in MEDLINE, CINAHL, SAGE, PsychINFO and ASA with terms: ‘Muslim’, ‘Islam* ’, ‘mental health’, ‘nurs* ’, ‘person-cent* ’, ‘religio* ’. Narrative data were analysed for commonalities and themes.FindingsSeven studies of sufficient quality were analysed. Unconscious religious bias was the overarching theme linking the findings that healthcare staff felt ill-prepared and lacked necessary knowledge and experience to work with diverse patient groups. Unconscious racial bias contributed to limited cultural/ religious competence in treatment and care.ConclusionReligious identity is core for Muslim patients, so this group may not be receiving the person-centred care they deserve. Nurses need cultural and religious competence to deliver person-centred, holistic care to diverse patient populations, yet the importance of religious practice can be overlooked by staff, with harmful consequences for patient’s mental and spiritual welfare. This paper introduces a welcome pack that could help staff support the religious observance of those Muslim patients/service-users wishing to practice their faith during their stay in health services.     

Holistic models for end of life care: Establishing the place of culture

Abstract

Introduction

This article presents a holistic model for clinical palliative care and research which expands and improves previous models by fully recognizing the place of culture in illness.

Methods

Literature review and philosophical enquiry.

Results

Holistic models of patient care are essential to the practise of patient-centred care. However, these models have up to now largely neglected the role of culture and the search for meaning in the illness experience, despite evidence of disparities in the access of palliative care services by people from ethnic minority groups. A phenomenological approach to illness highlights three principles: that illness is cultural, that the search for meaning related to the finitude of human life is fundamental to the illness experience, and that illness narratives are culturally conditioned manifestations of the search for meaning in illness. A holistic model for palliative care is presented on the basis of these principles.

Discussion

A holistic model that recognizes the place of culture in illness has implications for clinical practice, service development, and training. We propose an agenda for research into cultural and spiritual aspects of care on the basis of the model, including the formulation and evaluation of service models that take into account cultural features of illness and meet patients’ needs for support with finding meaning.     

Cultural sensitivity in physician-patient relationships: perspectives of an ethnically diverse sample of low-income primary care patients

BACKGROUND: Health care providers and health care training institutions need more specific, relevant, and useful information for providing culturally sensitive health care. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine what patients considered to be culturally sensitive health care. RESEARCH DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: We conducted 20 focus group interviews with 135 mostly low-income primary care patients from three different ethnic/cultural groups (African American, European American, and Latino American). Focus group interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed into themes by two researchers using the constant comparative method. MEASURES: Participants' responses were grouped into primary and secondary themes. RESULTS: Results revealed the following universal themes of health care delivery by physicians that all three racial or ethnic groups identified as indicators of culturally sensitive health care: people skills, individualized treatment, effective communication, and technical competence. Results also revealed some ethnic group-specific themes. Other factors including physical environment characteristics (eg, culturally sensitive art, pictures, music, and reading materials) and office staff behaviors were unique indicators of culturally sensitive health care identified by African American and Latino American participants but not by European American participants. CONCLUSIONS: These findings can be incorporated into training programs for health care providers, possibly resulting in more effective health care delivery to patients from diverse cultural backgrounds. Future research is needed to evaluate the impact of incorporating patient-identified cultural sensitivity into health care delivery on important outcome measures such as patient satisfaction and treatment adherence.     

Culturally sensitive communication at the end-of-life in the intensive care unit: A systematic review

ObjectivesThe objectives of this systematic review were the following: (i) to describe whether culturally sensitive communication is used by clinicians (nurses and physicians) when communicating with patients and families at the end-of-life in the intensive care unit and (ii) to evaluate the impact of culturally sensitive communication at the end-of-life. The systematic review question was how is culturally sensitive communication used by clinicians when communicating with patients and families at the end-of-life in the intensive care unit?Data sourcesA search of CINAHL, MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO databases identified all peer-reviewed research evidence published in English between January 1994 and November 2017. Two authors independently assessed articles for inclusion. From the 124 articles resulting from the search, nine were included in this systematic review.Review methodsArticles were independently assessed for quality by two authors using Caldwell et al.'s framework to critique health research. The data available in this systematic review were heterogeneous, with varied study designs and outcome measures, making the data unsuitable for meta-analysis. The most appropriate method for data synthesis for this systematic review was narrative synthesis.ResultsFrom the narrative synthesis, two major themes emerged: communication barriers and cultural and personal influences on culturally sensitive communication. Communication barriers were identified in eight studies, influencing the timing and quality of culturally sensitive communication at the end-of-life. Cultural and personal influences on communication at the end-of-life was present in eight studies.ConclusionsThe findings of this systematic review show that clinicians lack the knowledge to enable effective interaction with culturally diverse patients and families at the end-of-life.     

The human dimensions of post-stroke homecare: experiences of older carers from diverse ethnic groups

Purpose: Very little is known about how older people from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups caring for someone after a stroke access and engage with social care services. This paper explores both the experiences of carers whose relative was receiving social care services in their own home and the value of a theory of humanising care to understand and explain these experiences.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 50 carers from five different ethnic groups: Asian Indian, Asian Pakistani, Black African, Black Caribbean and White British. Data were thematically analysed within a phenomenological framework.

Results: Five interacting themes emerged: communication and bureaucracy; time and timing; communication and rapport building; trust and safety; humanity and the human dimensions of care. Many of the experiences could be interpreted within a conceptual framework of humanising care underpinned by eight interacting dimensions of what it means to be treated as an individual and a human.

Conclusions: Carers from BME and White British groups share many experiences of homecare although language and cultural difference may exacerbate common pressures and stresses. The framework for humanising care is a useful tool to evaluate aspects of homecare that are responsive to dignity and diversity.

• Implications for Rehabilitation

• Explicitly identifying, describing and valuing the human dimensions of care may support services in responding appropriately to homecare users from black minority ethnic communities as well as those from white majority groups.

• Unresponsive services and poor communication may lead to loss of trust with care agencies and undermine BME carers’ sense of entitlement and competence in engaging with homecare services.

• Care worker continuity investing time in building relationships and care worker familiarity is important to many families who access social care services.

     

A scoping review of the literature addressing psychological well-being of racial and ethnic minority nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has affected the well-being of nursing professionals, especially long-term and acute care nurses, many of whom are nurses of color.PurposeWe examine the evidence and gaps in the literature addressing psychological well-being of racial/ethnic minority RNs in the United States during COVID-19.MethodsWe searched eight databases during March 2022 and used Joanna Briggs’ Scoping Review Methodology and PRISMA-ScR reporting standards.DiscussionSeven studies met inclusion criteria. Two exclusively examined nurses; five reported findings from heterogeneous samples of health care workers. No significant racial/ethnic differences in well-being were reported among health care workers. Among nurses, if a difference existed, White nurses reported decreased psychological well-being relative to ethnic and racial minority nurses. Two studies report modest racial/ethnic differences in nurses’ psychological well-being.ConclusionSignificant gaps in the literature remain; future studies should analyze groups of health care workers separately, clearly identify racial and ethnic groups, and examine the role of respondents’ work setting.     

Exploring the experience of facilitating self-management with minority ethnic stroke survivors: a qualitative study of therapists’ perceptions

Abstract

Purpose: The utility of self-management with people from minority ethnic backgrounds has been questioned, resulting in the development of culturally specific tools. Yet, the use of stroke specific self-management programmes is underexplored in these high risk groups. This article presents the experience of stroke therapists in using a stroke specific self-management programme with stroke survivors from minority ethnic backgrounds. Methods: 26 stroke therapists with experience of using the self-management programme with stroke survivors from minority ethnic backgrounds participated in semi-structured interviews. These were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Results: Three themes were identified. One questioned perceived differences in stroke survivors interaction with self-management based on ethnicity. The other themes contrasted with this view demonstrating two areas in which ethnic and cultural attributes were deemed to influence the self-management process both positively and negatively. Aspects of knowledge of health, illness and recovery, religion, family and the professionals themselves are highlighted. Conclusions: This study indicates that ethnicity should not be considered a limitation to the use of an individualized stroke specific self-management programme. However, it highlights potential facilitators and barriers, many of which relate to the capacity of the professional to effectively navigate cultural and ethnic differences.

• Implications for Rehabilitation

• Stroke therapists suggest that ethnicity should not be considered a barrier to successful engagement with a stroke specific self-management programme.

• Health, illness and recovery beliefs along with religion and the specific role of the family do however need to be considered to maximize the effectiveness of the programme.

• A number of the facilitators and barriers identified are not unique to stroke survivors from ethnic minority communities, nor shared by all.

• The therapists skills at negotiating identified barriers to self-management are highlighted as an area for further development.

     

Validation of the culturally adapted Edinburgh postpartum depression scale among east Asian,southeast Asian and south Asian populations: A scoping review

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is a widely used self-report instrument to screen for postpartum depression (PPD). Assessing the relevance of the EPDS as a screening tool for minority ethnic populations is pertinent for ensuring culturally appropriate care. This scoping review aimed to explore what is known about the cultural adaptations of the EPDS in antepartum and postpartum mothers and fathers in East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian populations, and to what extent these adaptations are able to accurately screen for postpartum depression symptoms among these cultural groups. The scoping review was guided by the PRISMA-ScR checklist. The search strategy included databases of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL and Grey literature. Included studies were primary articles published in English language peer-reviewed journals that investigated the validation or cultural adaptation of the EPDS in mothers who were pregnant and/or had recently given birth, or fathers who were new parents, and were limited to the following cultural groups, whether living locally or abroad in a foreign country: East Asian, Southeast Asian or South Asian populations. Thirty-six of 2469 studies met criteria for inclusion. Twenty-one of 36 studies utilizing a culturally validated EPDS demonstrated a cut-off score lower than the original recommended cut-off. Important themes identified included the Role of Culture, Somatization of PPD, Method of Interview, and contrasting performance compared to other scales used to assess depression and/or anxiety. Accessibility to translated and validated EPDS and mindfulness of ethnically relevant EPDS cut-off scores are critical when using this tool among minority ethnic populations.     

Nurses' experiences of caring for South Asian minority ethnic patients in a general hospital in England

Healthcare provision for minority ethnic groups in the UK has generally revealed inequalities in access and differential service provision. British healthcare policy has started to address such issues. However, very few studies have specifically examined the experiences of nurses caring for minority ethnic patients. This paper focuses on the focus group interviews of a broader ethnographic study, aimed at describing nurses' experiences of caring for South Asian minority ethnic patients, in a general hospital in the south of England. A sample of 43 nurses of all grades from six medical wards took part in the focus groups: three ward sisters, 22 staff nurses and 18 care assistants; 40 participants were white, one was African-Caribbean and two were South Asian. Data analysis revealed eight themes: changes in service provision; false consciousness of equity; limited cultural knowledge; victim blaming; valuing of the relatives; denial of racism; ethnocentrism, and self-disclosure. The study revealed a good local service response to government policies in addressing inequality. However, there was a tendency to treat all minority ethnic patients the same, with evidence of ethnocentric practices, victim-blaming approaches and poor cultural competence in nursing staff, which raise questions about the quality of service provision. The study indicates that ongoing training and development in the area of cultural competence is necessary.     

Exploring cultural competence of nurses and associated barriers in Ethiopian tertiary hospitals: A qualitative study

BackgroundsCultural diversities in both patients and health professionals possess difficulties in cultural care. Such cultural diversities can lead to culturally inappropriate care and health disparities. Delivering culturally competent nursing care is a powerful tool to provide care equally for all patients and eliminate health disparities among culturally diverse people. The present study aimed to explore the cultural competence of nurses and associated barriers in Ethiopian tertiary hospitals.MethodsThe study was conducted on eight purposively selected key informants from March 1 to April 30, 2018. Data was collected using semi-structured questions through face to face in-depth interview. The collected data analyzed using thematic analysis and presented in the form of text and table.ResultsEight (n = 3 females and n = 5 males) participants were involved in the study. After extensive analysis, four themes emerged: cultural competence, linguistic competence, cultural competence education and training, and barriers to cultural competence. Another six subthemes of barriers encountered by participants identified and consisted of the language barrier, trained interpreter and translator limitation, lack of knowledge of the patient's culture, lack of multicultural nursing workforce, and shortage of nursing staff, cultural and linguistic stereotypes.ConclusionsNurses less focused on cultural aspects of patients, and they focused more on biological factors and patients' disease. Interestingly, they expressed respect for the cultural and religious practice of patients and showed an interest to learn about cultural care nursing. Cultural competence of participants was hindered by several barriers that need nurses to overcome it.