Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
In the profession of nursing, nurses take care of patients with a variety of different
cultures. To provide culturally competent care to patients and families of different cultures
during end of life care, it is critical to be educated about different cultures and to be self-aware of
personal cultural beliefs. Nurses need to be aware of their own feelings, attitudes, preferences
and biases in relation to culture (Matzo & Sherman, 2015, pg. 101). A thorough understanding
of personal beliefs allows nurses to be aware of how their beliefs impact and influence care to
patients of different cultures. Cultural education and awareness is a continuous aspect of nursing.
The focus of this discussion is the Chinese culture and end of life care. Chinese culture
influences dying, death, and grieving during end of life care. It is important to understand the
cultural differences during the end of life process in order to be able to explain them to the
family.
Chinese Culture
Chinese culture is based on power and paternal hierarchy with a primary focus of
centrality of family (Kemp & Chang, 2002). Instead of patients thinking solely about their own
personal needs, the patient is going to be more mindful about how their actions influence their
family. Chinese patients often internalize pain and only reveal pain through nonverbal cues. In
Chinese culture, the oldest adult male is the primary decision maker (Matzo & Sherman, 2015,
pg. 95). Health care decisions are going to be made by the oldest male and are typically based
around what is best for the family. As a nurse, it is important to have open communication with
the family about their culture and wishes. The nurse should communicate with the oldest male
present in the family and ask specific questions about the patient and family’s cultural needs.
Dying
Chinese families often withhold information from patients because they believe that a
person’s final days should be characterized by a sense of calm (Matzo & Sherman, 2015, pg. 95).
This aspect of the Chinese culture can be difficult in nursing, because typically all parts of care
are communication are done with the patient. It is important to respect this aspect of Chinese
culture and not directly communicate with the family member if it goes against the family’s
wishes. No information should ever be misconstrued or altered if the patient askes about their
prognosis. During the dying process, the family and patient as a whole need to be taken into
control with the patient even if the patient is not verbally expressing pain. It is a cultural ideal
for the family to provide care for the patient during the dying process (Kemp & Chang, 2002).
The family might prefer to take care of the patient themselves. If this is the case, the nurse needs
to know what the family does and does not want help with.
Death
In Chinese culture, patients prefer to die in their own home. It is common in the Chinese
culture to seek care in a hospital until death is near, and then be discharged home to die in the
comfort of their own home (Kemp & Chang, 2002). Chinese patients prefer this because there
are a lot of traditional religious rituals that are performed that aid in the spirit departing from the
word after death. After death, it is common for the family of the deceased to want to stay with
the body for eight hours or more (Kemp & Chang, 2002). The family should be provided with
maximum privacy in order to give them time to perform traditional rituals and prepare the body
for burial as needed. It is common in the Chinese culture to hang a white cloth on the outside of
the door or a red cloth if the patient is older than 80 years old after a death.
Grieving
The Chinese culture influences the grieving process. In the Chinese culture, it is common
to not express feelings or discuss the death of a loved one. In traditional Chinese culture,
individuals treat death as a taboo and often avoid talking about death or feelings in public (Chu
et al., 2015). This often leads to repression of feelings and not physically dealing with the loss of
a loved one. Grieving also occurs as a family. Respects are paid to the family as a whole. Even
though death is not openly discussed, relatives and friends show support by stopping by to pray
Conclusion
patients and families of a different culture about end of life care. Cultural competence is gained
through self-awareness and open communication about what patients and family’s need to meet
their cultural and religious needs. The Chinese culture has a variety of influences that impact
dying, death, and grieving during end of life care. As a nurse, it is vital to understand the Chinese
culture in order to provide culturally competent care to both the patient and family during end of
life care.
References
Chu, H., Sterling, Sean, & Schultz, Donald. (2015). The Meaning of Death: A Phenomenological
Study of Chinese Adults Who Have Lost a Loved One, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.
Kemp, C., & Chang, B. (2002). Culture and the End of Life: Chinese. Journal of Hospice &
Matzo, M., & Sherman, D. W. (2015). Palliative care nursing: Quality care to the end of life.