Mexican-Americans' Perceptions of Culturally Competent Care:"

Peer Journal Review

One of the most important goals of any health care provider is insuring the highest level of safe and effective care for their patients. In previous years, the role of cultural influences on patient care, as well as on provider service, has been largely ignored.

Today, however, most researchers and health care workers fully recognize the immense influence culture can exert on the success, or the failure, of health care.

In response to this reality, Maria R. Warda's work, "Mexican-Americans' Perceptions of Culturally Competent Care," published in the Western Journal of Nursing Research, addresses the practical question of just what constitutes "culturally competent care," specifically as it relates to Mexican-Americans. In particular, Warda notes that the four main areas of cultural care as defined by "the Hispanic literature on cultural care" (Warda, 2000, p. 203), are "family, spirituality, communication, and health...
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