Title : Culturally competent compassion care practices of ICU professional nurses in Gauteng, South Africa

The relatives of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) bring cultural therapies to be used and request cultural practices to be performed on their family members, while others come to “fetch the spirit of their dead family member”. However, some ICU professional nurses refuse to grant patients and their families their wishes, stating that they “do not believe in such practices”. This research aimed to gain a deeper understanding of professional nurses’ practices of culturally competent compassion care in ICU in a public hospital. A qualitative and contextual research design was used. Twenty (20) ICU professional nurses, who were purposively sampled because they had one or two requests of a cultural nature from patients and their relatives, were interviewed through individual semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s six (6) step thematic method. Trustworthiness was achieved and ethical considerations were adhered to. Theme 1: Reluctance and refusal to provide holistic, individualised, culturally centred care. Subthemes: (i) Blurring of lines between the patient’s holistic care and nurses’ personal beliefs, (ii) Offering of alternative beliefs to patients, (iii) Acceptance of unilateral culturally centred practices, and (iv) Using infection control and safety concerns as a scapegoat. Theme 2: Acceptance of cultural practices by professional nurses. Subthemes: (i) Use of personal and professional discretion, and (ii) Need for cultural intelligence training in nursing. Cultural identity helps ICU patients and their families find strength and resilience during hardships when they are ill.

Prof G Ndawo is an Associate Professor at the UJ, South Africa. She trained as a professional nurse at the BG Alexander Nursing College in Johannesburg and later received her Master's and Doctoral degrees, both in Nursing Education in 2014 and 2017, respectively. She has published 15 research articles in peer-reviewed journals.