The Theory and Organizational Framework of the Purnell Model

Diversity in Healthcare
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Name/Number
Instructor’s Name
Due Date
The Purnell Model for Cultural Competence
In contemporary society, due to diversity and multiculturalism, cultural competence is regarded as an indispensable element in health care settings. Providing integrated and more personalized health care services by patients’ beliefs and cultural views has become the groundwork of health care practice. Various models have been established to direct nurses and clinicians on how to deliver care to patients from varied backgrounds. Entailed in this paper is a discussion of The Purnell Model for Cultural Competence and its significance in transcultural care. This paper will also describe Purnell’s 12 domains of culture, how each domain contributes to the diversity of healthcare, and how the model can be applied when providing care to individuals from varied cultures.
The Theory and Organizational Framework of the Purnell Model
The model for cultural competence was first developed when Larry Purnell was conducting a lesson and realized the need for a more culturally sensitive and thorough organizational tool for nurses and physicians to use daily. The Purnell model consists of five circles. The first and outermost circle symbolizes a global society. The second circle symbolizes community. The third circle symbolizes family, the fourth circle symbolizes a person, and the innermost circle consists of twelve domains that influence culture.
As asserted by Betancourt et al., there are four main processes through which health care practitioners can achieve cultural competence (2014). Initially, before acquiring conscious competence, nurses must acquire unconscious competence. The primary components of cultural competence include color, nationality, gender, age, race, and religious affiliation. The secondary components include physical characteristics, marital and parental status, and political beliefs (Purnell, 2000, pg. 11).
The innermost circles of the Purnell model consist of 12 domains, each representing concepts that nurses and clinicians should focus on when evaluating patients. The 12 domains should not be regarded as diverse or separate entities; rather, they should be viewed as entities that inform and influence each other and hence should be viewed as a unified part of a whole (Snider, 2012, pg. 8).
The 12 Domains of Purnell's Model and How Each Domain Contributes to the Diversity of Health Care
Purnell’s Model includes 12 domains, namely;
1. Communication
Communication involves the analysis of features such as body language, spatial distancing practices, dominant language, eye contact, dilates, tone, touch, facial expressions, and names (Purnell, 2000, pg. 13).
2. Organization and Family Roles
This includes concepts associated with social status, gender roles, patient’s priorities in life, child-rearing practices, head of household, development tasks, analyzing patient’s lifestyle, and the role of the aged within the family (Purnell, 2000, pg. 13).
3. Overview, Topography, and Inhabited Localities
This includes current residence, reasons for emigration, politics, economics, effects of top...