Culturally congruent practice is the application of evidence-based nursing that aligns with the preferred cultural values, beliefs, worldview, and practices of the healthcare consumer and other stakeholders. Cultural competence is the process through which nurses demonstrate culturally congruent practice. Together, they help nurses design and direct care that improves access, promotes positive outcomes, and reduces disparities.

Culturally congruent practice means providing nursing care that deliberately matches the cultural values, beliefs, worldview, and practices of the person or group receiving care, based on evidence-based nursing. Cultural competence is described as the process nurses go through to show or achieve culturally congruent practice. This implies that cultural competence is not the final goal itself, but the ongoing approach that makes culturally congruent practice possible. In addition, nurses are expected to design and direct culturally congruent practice and services for diverse healthcare consumers in order to improve access to care, promote positive health outcomes, and reduce health disparities.

Key points

Culturally congruent practice applies evidence-based nursing in agreement with the consumer's preferred cultural values, beliefs, worldview, and practices.
Cultural competence is the process nurses use to demonstrate culturally congruent practice.
Culturally congruent practice is meant to improve access, promote positive outcomes, and reduce disparities.
Multiple models and theories guide implementation of culturally congruent practice.

What is culturally congruent practice and how does it relate to cultural competence?

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