The Case for Studying Cultural Competence from the Perspective of the Hispanic Immigrant Patient: A State of the Science

Abstract

Hispanic immigrants have contributed to 56% of the nation’s growth providing a challenge to nurses and other U.S. health providers in delivering culturally competent care. This state of the science paper ex- amines representative research on the topic of cul- tural competence from the perspective of the Hispanic immigrant patient. Twenty-two articles were identified and summarized. It was found that the ori- gins and cultures of the Hispanic population are often extremely varied further complicating the ability for Hispanic patients to receive culturally competent care. The research indicates that this population re- quires further study as to their needs and experi- ences with the U.S. healthcare system.