Cultural competence for nurses: canonical correlation of two culture scales.

As the diversity of the US residential population increases, healthcare professionals need to recognize the importance of culturally competent care on health outcomes of individuals and communities. The purpose of this descriptive correlational pilot study (N = 51) was to describe the relationship among scores and sub-scores on scales measuring concepts of cultural competence. An additional purpose was to develop reliability and validity data on each of three culture scales for the population of hospital based registered nurses. Each of the scales had previously reported reliability and validity data but were administered to populations potentially different from southern-based, hospital-employed RNs. A large medical center located in Southeastern US was chosen as the study's site due to its diverse staff and client base. The Giger and Davidhizar Transcultural Assessment Model and Theory was the theoretical foundation for the study and Cultural Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES), Cultural Attitude Scale as developed by Bonaparte (1977, 1979) and modified by Rooda (1990, 1992) (CAS-Modified), and knowledge base questions (Rooda, 1990) were the chosen instruments. For this group of hospital based RNs, the reliability analysis--scale (Alpha) for the 58 item CSES was .9778. The reliability analysis (Alpha) for the 22 knowledge base questions was .6038 and .6412 for the 40 item CAS-M. Canonical correlation analysis was performed between a set of attitude variables and a set of self efficacy variables using SPSS (1995). Both sets of variables demonstrated statistically significant relationships (at an a priori alpha of .05) to each other (with an approximate Eta squared value for practical significance of .336), providing sufficient evidence to reject the non-relationship null hypothesis. For this sample and for these data, cultural self-efficacy toward Asian, Black, Hispanic clients, and self-efficacy regarding nursing skills when caring for diverse clients related to cultural attitudes and cultural self-efficacy. Nursing care, cultural health beliefs, and cultural health attitudes related to attitudes toward care of diverse clients. Both sets of variables related to each other as qualities of culturally competent nursing care.