Culturally Competent Nursing Approach and Health Literacy in Elderly Care

Multicultural population structures are formed with population mobility throughout the world. The need for health services increases with the aging of immigrants in the place where they migrated. In this case, health professionals should take into account the differences and cultural characteristics of elderly individuals from different cultures in their health levels. Transcultural nursing means providing effective care by meeting the cultural needs of individuals, families, and groups, improving the cultural knowledge of nurses, humanistic approach, preserving the health of the individual, and using all improvement methods in care. Nurses should know what the aging period means, cultural practices, and reasons for applying/not applying to health care to provide holistic care for elderly. The provision of transcultural nursing care requires reading, writing, and understanding health-related information. With the increase in the elderly population, those with low health literacy levels and cultural diversity are likely to increase. In multicultural societies, nurses provide care by analyzing the cultural characteristics of the elderly and are aware of the importance of health literacy that can contribute to improved health outcomes. The care that nurses give, taking into account the health literacy levels of older individuals, can also contribute to culturally adequate nursing care. The purpose of this review is to examine culturally adequate nursing approach and health literacy in elderly care.