Diversity in the context of multicultural Australia: Implications for nursing practice

Cultural and social structures, such as race, religion, language, education, ethnicity, and economic status are major influences on peoples health and wellbeing. The Australian people represent a wealth of cultural diversity. The term culture in this chapter is used in the broad sense to mean the cultural and social structural dimensions or institutions in the environment that influence the development of an individuals beliefs, values and behaviour patterns. In addition to the Indigenous population, Australia’s cultural diversity has increased through immigration. Australia has one of the largest proportions of immigrant populations in the world, with an estimated 24% of the total population (4.96 million people) born overseas (Commonwealth of Australia 2008). Well over half of these, one in seven Australians, were born in a non-English-speaking country (Australian Institute of Health Welfare (AIHW 2008). In excess of 200 cultural and linguistic groups are represented in today’s Australian population (Commonwealth of Australia 2007). Diversity exists too in the wide range of contexts and environments in which people live. Variations in land, climate and settings compound diversity in social and cultural characteristics of people, as reflected in the diversity of settings in which health care is delivered. Health care is delivered in rural-remote areas, in community health settings, in the home, and in a number of acute settings within or outside hospitals in urban settings. The purpose of this chapter is to inform student nurses and to develop in them an awareness of the benefits and challenges of diversity, with the aim of promoting the delivery of nursing care to diverse populations in culturally meaningful and safe ways. ISBN-10: 1405100958 ISBN-13: 978-140510095

Workplace practices with mental health implications impacts on recruitment and retention of overseas nurses in the context of nursing shortages

In response to nursing workforce shortages, health agencies in Australia and elsewhere have sought to meet the demand for nursing services by recruiting nurses internationally. While there is a major focus on recruitment, little attention is given to factors that could enhance retention of overseas qualified nurses. There are a host of factors reported in the literature that impact upon retention of overseas nurses in the workforce, including: impact of re-settlement experiences in the new country; discriminatory practices in accessing employment and negative experiences in the work place. For the benefit of long term retention of overseas nurse graduates in the workforce in Australia and globally, these experiences are major issues needing urgent attention. This discussion paper reviews the literature to explore the impact of aggression and discriminatory practices in nursing as evidence for nurses leaving the profession, and discusses the mental health implications and consequences of such practices relating to overseas nurse graduates

Diversity challenges in the context of multicultural Australia

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Advances in Contemporary Transcultural Nursing

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Transcultural midwifery: Culture care for Mauritian immigrant childbearing families living in New South Wales, Australia

Australia is a country of many diverse cultural and linguistic societies, with its people drawn from more than 200 of the world's nations and speaking more than 80 languages (Commonwealth of Australia, 2001, 2008). Because it is a nation of immigrants, the Australian government has made a commitment to increasing positive immigration and healthcare policies and maintaining Australia's Multiculturalism with an obligation toward meeting the diverse cultural and linguistic healthcare needs of all Australians..

Meeting the health care needs of a diverse society

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Beyond asylum : implications for nursing and health care delivery for Afghan refugees in Australia

Descriptions of the refugee experience, together with an analysis of access, use, and appropriateness of mental and physical health services as perceived by members of the Afghan immigrant or refugee community living in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, are reported in this article. Using focus groups and semistructured interviews in a variety of settings, the study included 13 key informants and 25 general informants, together with health care agencies providing services to the Afghans and organizations providing resources. Analysis of interviews with Afghan people revealed a number of themes. These include emotional responses to trauma, migration, and resettlement experiences; culture-specific health maintenance strategies; barriers impeding access to and appropriateness of Australian health care services; and informant-suggested strategies to enhance accessibility and the appropriateness of health care and community services. These findings are significant and have relevance for improving the quality of culture-specific health care for the Afghan community in NSW Australia