Fundamental Cultural Competence Areas in Buddhism

Buddhist Team Paper: Literature Review
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Buddhist Team Paper: Literature Review
Abstract
Buddhism has remained a dominant way of life that significantly impacts healthcare practices. Connections between the two concepts have emerged in diverse literature, demonstrating their importance in practice. One can use the Purnell model for cultural competence to illustrate fundamental cultural competence areas in Buddhism that healthcare providers should gain to ensure they can provide culturally competent, holistic, and patient-focused services while caring for such communities. The diverse domains, including pregnancy and childbearing practices, spirituality, communication, and death rituals, demonstrate that Buddhists have unique expectations that healthcare professionals should consider while delivering care and formulating interventions.
Literature Review
Caring for patients requires nurses to integrate diverse components for desired outcomes. Purnell and Fenkl (2021) indicate that patients’ cultural consideration in their care is one of the leading determinants of the quality of their perception of the services provided by healthcare professionals and the ease of embracing them. Holland (2018) also recognizes this aspect by demonstrating the unique integration of patients’ religious needs, practices, and other personal considerations related to their culture during care delivery. Such approaches are consistent with culturally competent care that ensures the recommendations from the nurses align with the patients’ views of wellness and other related elements. Nurses rely on the Purnell theory for cultural competence to understand and link culture to all elements of care (Purnell & Fenkl, 2021). According to Kalra et al. (2018), Buddhists represent one of the populations that nurses must remain culturally sensitive to while delivering care in all contexts. As a result, diverse domains of the cultural competence model illustrate the cultural needs while caring for Buddhist patients.
Pregnancy and Childbearing Practices
Fertility-related Practices and Pregnancy Perspectives
Childbearing is a highly respected and religious-inclined period among Buddhists. For instance, as a group that follows the Buddhist culture, Thai people consider pregnancy a duration when the women require increased emotional and physical care (Purnell & Fenkl, 2021). The author indicates that healthcare providers should remain aware of the increased attention and care during this period and tailor their health education and care to meet this expectation. Buddhists believe pregnant women are vulnerable, and the community should work collectively to ensure their health. As a result, everyone, including the mother and husband, plays a fundamental role in their care by being supportive throughout the process. Healthcare providers are also part of this process because of the common health challenges during this period (Guptarak et al., 2020). However, the primary concern is that women have an increased preference for receiving pregnancy-associated examinations and treatments from their female counterparts com...