It is not easy being sick, especially when the illness is cancer or a chronic disease. Consider this, a culturally diverse individual with his or her own health beliefs and practices seeks the assistance of western medicine for treatment of cancer, a life threatening illness. All components are present in each cultural group, but can vary in intensity. Communication refers to the means by which a culture is preserved and passed down from generation to generation. It can consist of verbal, non-verbal, and written communication and is the most important factor in providing culturally sensitive nursing care because it occurs throughout the nursing process.
Language is the most noticeable cultural difference.
Nurses will typically respond to a patient's inability to communicate verbally by avoiding the patient, speaking loudly or shouting at the patient, focusing on tasks instead of the patient, or even stop talking with the patient. If the nurse and the patient speak different languages, it may be necessary to seek the assistance of a translator. Nonverbal communication includes the use of touch, facial expressions, and body language. This form of communication will vary among cultures and can be the cause of miscommunication when caring for an individual. For example, eye contact during conversation is expected by white Americans.