Educational needs of nurses in intensive therapy units to improve attitudes towards interculturally diverse patients in Slovenia

Abstract

Culturally competent nurses can have a positive impact on the quality of nursing care, patient satisfaction and patient health outcomes. They acquire cultural competence through education. Nurses in intensive care units treat more demanding conditions of patients with specific needs, which requires a high level of cultural competence. The aim of the research was to determine the need for the education of nurses in intensive care units with regard to their attitude towards culturally diverse patients. We used a quantitative research approach. The data were collected with a questionnaire, Healthcare Provider Cultural Competence Instrument (HPCCI) and Educational Needs Questionnaire related to multicultural healthcare. 98 healthcare providers from intensive care units in Slovenia participated in the research. The majority of participants in the study were women (73.5 %) of an average 37.7 years of age (SD = 8.5) who had an average of 14.6 years of working (SD = 10.2) in intensive care units. Participants expressed a relatively high need for education (M = 3.8; SD = 0.6) and perceived themselves as favorable towards interculturally diverse patients (M = 4.1; SD = 0.5). The need for education was statistically significantly (at p < 0.001) associated with the perception of the nurses' own preferences for interculturally diverse patients (r = 0.51). The research found that a better attitude of nurses towards patients in intensive care units predicts a higher expressed need for education.