Deck 2: Health Disparities and Culturally Competent Care

Question 1

If an interpreter is not available when a patient speaks a language different from the nurse's language, it is appropriate for the nurse to

A) use specific medical terms in the Latin form.
B) talk slowly so that each word is clearly heard.
C) repeat important words so that the patient recognizes their importance.
D) use simple gestures to demonstrate meaning while talking to the patient.

Answer 1

use simple gestures to demonstrate meaning while talking to the patient.

Question 2

While talking with the nursing supervisor, a staff nurse expresses frustration that a Native American patient always has several family members at the bedside. The most appropriate action by the nursing supervisor is to

A) remind the nurse that family support is important to this family and patient.
B) have the nurse explain to the family that too many visitors will tire the patient.
C) suggest that the nurse ask family members to leave the room during patient care.
D) ask about the nurse's personal beliefs about family support during hospitalization.

Answer 2

ask about the nurse's personal beliefs about family support during hospitalization.

Question 3

The nurse obtains information about all these areas during the health interview for a new patient. Which area will be the focus of patient teaching?

A) Age and gender
B) Hispanic/Latino ethnicity
C) Family history of diabetes
D) Refined carbohydrate intake

Answer 3

Refined carbohydrate intake

Question 4

A family member of an elderly Hispanic patient admitted to the hospital tells the nurse that the patient has traditional beliefs about health and illness. The best action by the nurse is to

A) avoid asking any questions unless the patient initiates conversation.
B) ask the patient whether it is important that cultural healers are contacted.
C) explain the usual hospital routines for meal times, care, and family visits.
D) obtain further information about the patient's cultural beliefs from the daughter.

Question 5

When performing a cultural assessment with a patient of a different culture, the nurse's first action should be to

A) wait until a cultural healer is available to help with the assessment.
B) obtain a list of any cultural remedies that the patient currently uses.
C) ask the patient about any affiliation with a particular cultural group.
D) tell the patient what the nurse already knows about the patient's culture.

Question 6

A new RN graduate is assessing a newly admitted non-English-speaking Chinese patient who complains of severe headaches. The charge nurse should intervene if the new RN's first action is to

A) sit down at the bedside.
B) palpate the patient's scalp.
C) call for a medical interpreter.
D) avoid eye contact with the patient.

Question 7

The best example of culturally appropriate nursing care when caring for a newly admitted patient is

A) having family members provide most of the patient's personal care.
B) maintaining a personal space of at least 2 feet when assessing the patient.
C) asking permission before touching a patient during the physical assessment.
D) considering the patient's ethnicity as the most important factor in planning care.

Question 8

When caring for a patient who is Native American, the best initial action by the nurse is to

A) avoid all eye contact with the patient.
B) observe the patient's use of eye contact.
C) look directly at the patient when interacting.
D) ask the family about the patient's cultural beliefs.

Question 9

When doing an admission assessment for a patient, the nurse notices that the patient pauses before solve questions about the health history. The most appropriate action by the nurse is to

A) stop doing the assessment and return later.
B) wait for the patient to solve the questions.
C) ask the patient why the questions require so much time to asolve.
D) give the patient an assessment form listing the questions and a pen.

Question 10

An 82-year-old Asian American patient tells the nurse that she has lived in the United States for 50 years. The patient speaks English but lives in a predominantly Asian neighborhood. The nurse will need to

A) include a folk healer when planning the patient's care.
B) ask the patient about any special cultural beliefs or practices.
C) avoid making direct eye contact with the patient during care.
D) involve the patient's oldest son in making health care decisions.

Question 11

When planning care for a hospitalized patient who uses culturally based treatments, the most appropriate action by the nurse is to

A) coordinate the use of folk treatments with ordered medical therapies.
B) discourage the use of culturally based treatments for Western diseases.
C) teach the patient that folk remedies will interfere with Western treatments.
D) ask the patient to discontinue the cultural treatments during hospitalization.

Question 12

When planning health care for a community with a large number of recent immigrants from China, the most important intervention for the nurse to include is

A) pregnancy testing.
B) tuberculosis screening.
C) contraceptive teaching.
D) colonoscopy information.

Question 13

When developing strategies to decrease health care disparities, the nurse working in a clinic located in a neighborhood with many Vietnamese individuals will include

A) improving public transportation.
B) obtaining low-cost medications.
C) updating equipment and supplies for the clinic.
D) educating staff about Vietnamese health beliefs.

Question 14

Which of these strategies should be a priority when the nurse is planning care for a hypertensive patient who is uninsured?

A) Follow evidence-based national guidelines.
B) Assist with dietary changes as the first action.
C) Teach about the impact of exercise on hypertension.
D) Obtain less expensive antihypertensive medications.

Question 15

The nurse working in a clinic in a primarily African American community notes a higher incidence of uncontrolled hypertension in clinic patients than the national average. To correct this health disparity, which action should the nurse take first?

A) Initiate a regular home-visit program by nurses working at the clinic.
B) Schedule teaching sessions about hypertension at community events.
C) Assess the perceptions of community members about the care at the clinic.
D) Obtain low-cost antihypertensive drugs using funding from government grants.

Question 16

A Hispanic patient complains of abdominal cramping caused by empacho. The nurse's first action should be to

A) ask the patient what treatments are likely to help.
B) give the patient medication to decrease the cramping.
C) massage the patient's abdomen until the pain is gone.
D) offer to contact a curandero( a ) to make a visit to the patient.

Question 17

Which information will the nurse need to collect when assessing the health status of a community?

A) Average income of community members
B) Morning traffic patterns in the community
C) Median life expectancy for the community
D) Occupations of individuals in the community