Transkulturell omvårdnad vid psykisk ohälsa - ett sjuksköterskeperspektiv

Sammanfattning: Background: Mental illness can aggravate difficulties in transcultural nursing. Migrants often have one form of mental illness or another depending on their past experiences. They might understand the healthcare systems in their homelands and also have expectations from the system in their host country. Distrust for both staff and the system might arise when these expectations are not met. Underlying cultural perceptions of mental illness can be one of the reasons why these issues are not addressed which can create more suffering for these patients. Aim: The aim was to describe nurses’ experiences of transcultural nursing in connection with care of patients with mental illness in a closed ward setting. Method: Personal interviews with eight nurses at a hospital in mid-Sweden. The interviews were processed using qualitative content analysis. Findings: Nurses identified a number of difficulties in the care of mentally ill patients whose cultural background differed from theirs. These emanated from language barriers, cultural perceptions and the nurses’ approach. Conclusion: The nurses needed to approach every patient individually to overcome cultural difficulties and mental illness. By doing this, they were able to establish individual focus and a sense of security required to reach patients and offer good care.