Maina Peter

 Culture and Social Diversity: Practicing Care within the Kikuyu Community Name: Department: Course: Professor: Date: Nurses play a vital role in healthcare and disease management. Their role spans wide through triage, assessment and documentation, case and transition management, health coaching, to medication reconciliation. All these functions are geared towards improving quality and efficiency of healthcare, while at the same time, helping cut on the costs of healthcare (Hayes et al, 2015). With the cultural diversity resulting from the continuous immigration to the US, transcultural nursing and cultural competence cannot be overlooked. Nurses working in a culturally diverse population must therefore put into consideration, not only the cultural background, but also the beliefs, values and traditions of their patients (Jirwe, 2008). Kenyan-born immigrants are classified in the rapidly growing cohort of African immigrants in the US (Migration Policy Institute, 2014). Due to the colonial British history, the official language in Kenya is English and, therefore, Kenyans generally have a good command of the language. The accents, cultures, beliefs and traditions, however, vary with the ethnic groups. As such, while interacting with Kenyan-born immigrants as a nurse in the United States, there is need to put these differences into consideration. Among the immigrants from Kenya is the ethnic group called Agikuyu, or Kikuyu, who are originally from the central parts of the Republic of Kenya. The term refers to both the ethnic group, and their mother tongue language. As Elfenbein (2013) notes, individuals are better placed to judge expressions from their own cultural groups. Since it would be impossible to assign every patient a nurse from their cultural group, it is prudent that nurses should put effort towards understanding important aspects of different cultures and ethnic groups. Among the Kikuyu, for example, some and phrases such as Guciara – giving birth, Gukia – erection, nguiko-sex, are taboo to mention (Rita, 2014). It is also considered a taboo for a young person to see the nakedness of an elderly person. When dealing with a person from this ethnic group, a nurse is likely to run into trouble explaining things in a way that doesn’t seem gross. One should, therefore, acknowledge the place of certain beliefs and help the patient understand the existing cultural differences. Additionally, where accent and pronunciation impede communication with patients, as it happens among the Kikuyu with the interchange of “R” and “L” in their pronunciations, it would be prudent to get someone who understands the patient. There are other beliefs among the Kikuyu, like the folklore have it that there are women who have a “red thigh”, who’s lovers die mysteriously. This often plays out when dealing with the family of the deceased who do not understand what has happened to their kin. Understanding and acknowledging the existence of such beliefs is important when trying to help the bereaved come to terms with sudden death and in helping them comprehend the cause. Child-bearing is the first and most sacred duty in a marriage among the Kikuyu (Kenyatta, 1965). A nurse would need to understand the position of children in maintaining the kinship system while trying to help and provide alternatives to a couple struggling with childlessness. In addition, certain dietary practices are a norm among the Kikuyu such as including the Gikuyu beans or the hyacinth bean and bone soup into the diet of a nursing mother because they are believed to increase milk production (Kenyatta, 1965). As such, a nurse working in the United States might get questions on where a client should get such beans. Understanding such practices helps one understand the client better and provide guidance on available alternatives. In conclusion, while not all cultural beliefs, practices and unique tendencies among the Kikuyu are documented, it is important for a nurse working in communities where the Kikuyu are a part of to make an effort to understand such practices as a part of their cultural competence and transcultural nursing practices. References Elfenbein, Hillary. (2013). Nonverbal Dialects and Accents in Facial Expressions of Emotion. Emotion Review-/-. Retrieved on 01/01/2022 from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/-_Nonverbal_Dialects_and_Accents_in_Facial_Expressions_of_Emotion Hayes, C., Smolowitz J., Speakman E., Wojnar D., Whelan E., Ulrich S., Wood L. (2015). Role of the registered nurse in primary health care: Meeting health care needs in the 21st century. Retrieved on 1/02/2022 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/-/ Jirwe, Maria. (2008). Cultural Competence in Nursing. Retrieved on 01/02/2022 from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/-_Cultural_Competence_in_Nursing Jomo Kenyatta. (1965). Facing Mount Kenya: The Tribal Life of the Gikuyu. Migration Policy Institute (2014). RAD Diaspora Profile: The Kenyan Diaspora in the United States. Retrieved on 01/02/2022 from https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/files/content/docs/RAD/Kenya_Profile.pdf Rita N. Njoroge. (2014). Euphemisms and Taboo Words: A case of Kikuyu’s Kabete Dialect. Retrieved on 01/02/20222 from http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/bitstream/handle/11295/75309/Njoroge_Euphemisms%20and%20taboo%20words%20%20a%20case%20of%20Kikuyu%E2%80%99s%20Kabete%20dialect.pdf?sequence=1