An Emancipatory Approach to Cultural Competency: The Application of Critical Race, Postcolonial, and Intersectionality Theories

• Published in: Advances in nursing science Vol. 41; no. 4; pp. 316 - 326
• Main Authors: Wesp, Linda M, Scheer, Victoria, Ruiz, Ashley, Walker, Kimberly, Weitzel, Jennifer, Shaw, Leslie, Kako, Peninnah M, Mkandawire-Valhmu, Lucy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Copyright Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved 01-10-2018; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Ovid Technologies
• Subjects: Feminism; Health care; Health disparities; Nurses; Nursing; Nursing education; Nursing theory; Postcolonialism; Race; Social exclusion; Transcultural nursing
• ISSN: 0161-9268; 1550-5014
• DOI: 10.1097/ANS.0000000000000230

Nurses teach, work, and conduct research in an increasingly hostile sociopolitical climate where health inequities persist among marginalized communities. Current approaches to cultural competency do not adequately equip nurses to address these complex factors and risk perpetuating stereotypes and discrimination. A theory-driven emancipatory approach to cultural competency will instead lead to lasting change and uphold the core nursing value of commitment to social justice. This article explicates key tenets of critical race, postcolonial feminist, and intersectionality theories and then applies them, using an emancipatory approach to cultural competency that can reshape nursing education, research, and practice.