Examining the Capacity of Registered Nurses to Deliver Culturally Competent Health Care to Veterans and Their Families.

BACKGROUND: Although more than 75% of veterans and their families are accessing care in non-Veterans Affairs (VA) settings, there is little information about health care workers, specifically registered nurses (RNs)' ability to provide culturally competent and appropriate care to military veterans and their families.

PURPOSE: The purpose was to examine the capacity of RNs working in non-VA hospitals to deliver culturally competent health care to military veterans and their families.

METHODS: A prospective survey design was carried out with nurses from a large academic health system. The RAND Corporation's Ready to Serve web-based survey was adapted with permission for use with RNs employed in civilian urban and community hospitals. In addition to reporting descriptive statistics on demographics and each individual item, a score was calculated to define high cultural competency.

RESULTS: Twenty-five (4%) RNs demonstrated the capacity to deliver culturally competent health care.

CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed significant gaps in the capacity of nurses to deliver culturally competent care to military veterans and their families.