 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Kathleen L. Barr, PhD, RN, CS, UNMC College of Nursing, 985330 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-5330, (402) 559-3952, klbarr@unmc.edu and Dyanne D. Affonso, PhD, FAAN, Dean, Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S3H4, Canada.
A primary nursing care model designed for newly immigrated Latinos replicates the Malama Model of Caring (Affonso, 1994). This Primary Health Care Nursing Services (PHCNS) model integrates knowledge from qualitative data sets that profile contextual qualities, needs and cultural preferences. Emerging themes direct the approach to increasing Latinos' access to culturally competent care. Insights into the dilemma of being a Latino immigrant guide the PHCNS's response to dichotomous forces in Latino lives. Unmet basic needs of the population are supplemented through provision of food, education in basic hygiene and the prevention and control of endemic disease (WHO, 1988). The Model promotes understanding of the unique experience of being a Latino immigrant focusing on the importance of culture, religion, and family in the immigrant's transition to life in the US A. Tailored intervention protocols serve as compelling tools for building a common nursing perspective. Strategies are designed to reconcile the crisis of cultural adaptation apparent in chronic stress from the American lifestyle and harsh workplace environments. Community partnership, an adaptation strategy, involves incorporating community women as "Protectoras de Salud" and collaborating with worksites to provide onsite-nursing services. The discovery of the Latino family as a powerful metaphor of the Latino spirit facilitates access to the family as a whole through multiple strategies at school and church. This population's desire for "Latino style health care" is addressed throughout the Model and is characterized by a bilingual and bicultural staff, use of diverse settings, and flexible hours of service.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Latino Health, Cultural Competency
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.