Culturally Competent Scholarship in Nursing Research

Purpose: To determine the degree to which research reports published in major nursing research journals reflected Meleis’s eight criteria for culturally competent scholarship. Design: Analytic review of 167 studies dealing with race, ethnicity, or culture from four nursing research journals, 1992-2000. Method: Four reviewers selected, abstracted, and scored research articles independently, in pairs, and as a group. Findings: The mean and median Meleis scores were 2.92 and 3.00 on an 8-point scale. All scores were assigned at least once. Contextuality, relevance, and communication style were most frequently present; disclosure, empowerment, and time were least frequently present. Implications for further research: Assignment of Meleis scores is feasible and useful for evaluating cultural competence of research reports.