Evaluation of Cultural Competency in Clinical Nurses: A Descriptive Study

Background & Aim: Cultural competence is the ability to work effectively as an individual or an organization in the context of the cultural beliefs, behaviors and needs of customers and society. Due to the necessity of this feature in nurses, the present study aimed to investigate the level of cultural competence in employed nurses. Methods: This descriptive study was performed on 230 nurses working in educational and private hospitals in Ahvaz and Isfahan, Iran, who were selected by random sampling with inclusion criteria. Data gathering tool was a researcher-made cultural competency questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22 by describing and deduction examining like independent samples t-test, ANOVA, and Tukey test. Results: Of the participants, 67.8% were women and 92.6% had undergraduate degrees. The average work experience was 10 years, and 69.1% of nurses reported experience of working with patients with different cultures. The mean score of nurses' cultural competence was in the average level (104.8±11.58). The results also showed that the mean score of cultural competence was the highest in cultural flexibility dimension (24.46 ± 3.46) and lowest in cultural desire dimension (10.73±3.90). Conclusion: Due to the expansion of cultural diversity of patients in Iran, the average level of nurses' cultural competence in this study indicated the necessity of increasing the attention and planning of nursing managers to promote nurses' cultural competence.