Kontakt 2024, 26(3):233-237 | DOI: 10.32725/kont.2024.031

Cultural challenges: Exploring nurses' experiences in clinical practice across two European countriesNursing - Original article

Martin Červený ^*, Michaela Abrmanová, Valérie Tóthová

University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

Introduction: Cultural challenges in clinical practice can directly affect the quality and effectiveness of care for patients from different cultures.

Aim: To find out and compare Czech and Slovak nurses' cultural challenges in their clinical practice.

Methods: This cross-sectional comparative study used a non-standard questionnaire to explore cultural challenges in nurses' clinical practice in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This study followed the guidelines provided by the STROBE checklist. The statistical analysis was conducted using SASD 1.5.8 and IBM SPSS Statistics version 28.0.0.

Results: The study sample comprised 202 nurses from the Czech Republic and 222 nurses from Slovakia. The findings suggest that the most significant cultural challenge identified by nurses in both countries is the language barrier, which is compounded by staff shortages. It was found that nurses who are proficient in multiple languages demonstrated increased sensitivity to cultural challenges, which may indicate a correlation between multilingual ability and the perception of cultural barriers. The results suggest that factors such as gender, role within the healthcare setting, years of experience, and educational level may have an impact on the perception of cultural challenges.

Conclusion: As a result, it may be important to develop targeted interventions to improve cultural competence. Interventions such as education about cultures, training, and policy adjustments could be considered to create a more equitable and effective care environment for patients from diverse cultural backgrounds. This approach may lead to improved healthcare outcomes and increased patient satisfaction.

Keywords: Clinical practice; Cross-sectional study; Cultural challenges; Nurses

Grants and funding:

This study relates to grant project 046/2021/S, supported by the University of South Bohemia Grant Agency in České Budějovice.

Conflicts of interest:

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Received: February 12, 2024; Revised: May 2, 2024; Accepted: May 21, 2024; Prepublished online: May 21, 2024; Published: September 24, 2024  Show citation