Nurses´ Cultural Competence in End-of- Life Care : a Literature Review

Abstract

The thesis examines the use of cultural competence in nursing practice in end-of-life (EOL) care, such as how nurses provide culturally competent care to patients and families throughout the terminal phase of life. End-of-life care is not just managing bodily symptoms; it also involves addressing psychological, social, spiritual, and cultural issues. With increasingly heterogeneous populations, nurses are faced with the challenge of providing care that is sensitive to individual values, beliefs, and preferences of patients from multiple cultures. This literature review summarizes how cultural competence is defined in End-of-life care and how nurses integrate it into practice. This study analyzed 19 articles using inductive content analysis. Cultural competence is one concept that can be described by more than one dimension, which are self-knowledge, culture knowledge, attitudes, communication, and adaptability of care according to the patients’ cultures. In Finland, end-of-life care is a well-established and regulated part of the national healthcare system, and the healthcare professionals have a professional as well as legal duty to provide patient-autonomy-respecting, dignity-respecting, and culture-respecting care.