DAVIDHIZAR TRANSCULTURAL ASSESSMENT MODEL

Davidhizar transcultural assessment model

Davidhizar transcultural assessment model

Introduction

Based on the 2000 United States Census the likelihood of a nurse having a minority patient in a patient care setting are 1 in 4 (U. S. Department of Census, 2002). However, it is projected that by the year 2050 the likelihood of having a minority of Somalian patient will be fifty percent. It has been said that the United States is rapidly becoming a multicultural, pluralistic society (Giger & Davidhizar, 2004). However, the nurse should not be thinking of some patients as minorities and others not. Everyone has their own culture and needs to be treated as unique individuals. Assessing each person for their own cultural uniqueness is critical if individualized care strategies are to be designed and personalized care delivered. In the 21st century providing culturally appropriate and culturally competent care is a challenging task for all persons on the healthcare team.

In Somalia, displaced families, especially women and children face many health problems. The lack of basic resources like water, has led to cases of infectious diseases such as diarrhea and scabies, especially in camps for displaced persons. The food shortages of mothers and children are a recurring problem, and cases of communicable diseases such as cholera, are increasing. When mothers can not access clinics where their children can receive treatment and vaccines, this is reflected in the increased rate of infant mortality. In many cases, pregnant women do not attend antenatal clinics receive, which can result in complications during childbirth due to lack of basic health education. The Giger-Davidhizar Transcultural Assessment Model (GDTAM) was developed by two nurse educators in 1988 and offers a simple assessment umbrella that includes six areas for assessment. Attention to variables in these six areas will enable data to be collected on which to base culturally sensitive care.

The Giger Davidhizar Model Of Transcultural Assessment (GDMTA)

Madeline Leininger was a nurse with a doctorate in anthropology that is known today as the founder of transcultural nursing. In the 1960s, she started studying different cultures. She went to several South Sea Islands and started studying persons from cultures very unlike her own. After living with the people, she returned to the United States with the concept that nurses need to provide culturally appropriate care; and therefore, must try to understand the culture of the patient. Today, other transcultural models of assessment exist. The Giger-Davidhizar Transcultural Assessment Model (GDTAM) uses concepts from Dr. Leiningers sunrise model but provides a simple conceptual model with six phenomena to provide a method of assessing the patient for culturally unique behavior.

Giger Davidhizar Model Of Transcultural Nursing Assessment

The model includes 6 phenomena that need to be kept in mind to provide culturally appropriate care to the patient regardless of culture:

1) Communication

2) Space

3) Social organizations

4) Time

5) Environmental control

6) Biological variations

Transcultural nursing: Assessment and intervention (Giger & Davidhizar, 2004) provides an assessment tool in which lists of questions or areas of assessment are provided for each ...