Journal of Perioperative & Critical Intensive Care Nursing
Open Access
ISSN: 2471-9870
ISSN: 2471-9870
Nipuna Thamanam
Dublin City University, Ireland
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Perioper Crit Intensive Care Nurs
Ireland was previously a mono-cultural monotheistic country with Catholicism as the predominant religion, but was, in recent decades, transformed into a multicultural society. With increasing immigrant populations, undergraduate nursing students and nurses seeking to provide culturally competent care lacked general cultural awareness and specific knowledge regarding the religious death rituals of other cultures. According to the literature, cultural encounters were key to furthering cultural awareness, knowledge, skills, and a desire to be effective, leading to cultural competency. The aim of this study was to measure undergraduate nursing student general cultural awareness and specific knowledge of the death rituals practiced in the Republic of Ireland by three world religions: Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Two quantitative survey instruments were used along with questions related to demographics, education, and experience. A Cultural Awareness Scale (CAS) developed by Rew et al. (2014) was modified to measure cultural awareness (mCAS), and a new knowledge questionnaire (KQ) was developed to measure nursing student knowledge of religious death rituals. Eleven religious experts assisted in drafting 23 questions for the KQ. Six subject experts reviewed the KQ in-depth, and 68 students participated in a pilot test. Then, a quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken with 414 undergraduate nursing students (of 5,050) from all five nursing programmes at eight (of 13) higher educational institutions across Ireland, representing all four provinces. Descriptive analyses and inferential tests were conducted. Undergraduate nursing students self-reported moderately high levels of general cultural awareness in each of the four mCAS subscales (general experience, general awareness/attitude, nursing classes and clinical instruction, and clinical practice). However, the KQ results indicated very low levels of knowledge related to religious death rituals. Recommendations included mandating cultural competence during undergraduate nursing programmes via the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, as well as providing relevant organizational support.
Dr Nipuna Thamanam is an Assistant Professor at the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, University College Dublin. She recently co-led the development, delivery, and assessment of the new module ??An Introduction to Intercultural Issues Arising in Healthcare in Ireland?, delivered as part of the International Foundation Programme at Dublin City University (DCU). She is an enthusiastic, motivated, and hardworking Registered General Nurse and Registered Nurse Tutor with years of experience in providing expert nursing care in surgical and medical settings, acquiring a variety of nursing skills and experience. A conscientious professional committed to improving standards of care through evaluation of practice, knowledge of research, and lifelong learning. Keen to explore options to enhance health care research.