Promoting nursing students' understanding and reflection on cultural awareness with older adults in home care

It is important for nursing programs to use culturally focused activities to increase student preparation in caring for diverse older adults in their homes. The purpose of this study was to examine strategies that promote students' reflection on cultural awareness using home care—focused case studies, simulations, and self-reflective writing activities. Cases and simulations were designed to depict diverse patients living at home with a variety of demographic characteristics, such as health history, age, culture, religion, dietary preferences, marital status, family involvement, and socioeconomic status. Qualitative data regarding student perceptions of cultural awareness was gathered via written surveys, and findings suggest that junior- and senior-year nursing students enhanced the depth and breadth of how they defined “cultural competence” after participating in culturally focused classroom and clinical laboratory activities. Levels of reflective writing using N. Hatton and D. Smith's (1995) framework also improved by the semester's end for both groups of students.