Fundamentals of Nursing
Study Guide Exam 1
Know the different types of wellness:
Wellness: an active state of being healthy, including living a lifestyle that promotes good
physical, mental, and emotional health.
Physical Dimension: The physical dimension includes genetic inheritance, age,
developmental level, race, and gender. These components strongly influence the
person’s health status and health practices.
Emotional Dimension: How the mind affects body functions and responds to
body conditions also influences health. Long-term stress affects body systems,
and anxiety affects health habits; conversely, calm acceptance and relaxation can
actually change the body’s responses to illness.
Intellectual Dimension: The intellectual dimension encompasses cognitive
abilities, educational background, and past experiences. These influence the
person’s responses to teaching about health and reactions to nursing care during
illness.
Environmental Dimension: The environment has many influences on health and
ill- ness. Housing, sanitation, climate, and pollution of air, food, and water are
elements in the environmental dimension.
Sociocultural Dimension: Health practices and beliefs are strongly influenced by
a per- son’s economic level, lifestyle, family, and culture. In general, low-income
groups, racial and ethnic minorities, and other underserved populations are less
likely to seek medical care to prevent illness and have fewer treatment options,
while high-income groups are more prone to stress-related habits and illness.
Spiritual Dimension: Spiritual beliefs and values are important components of a
person’s health and illness behaviors (see Chapter 45). It is important that nurses
respect these values and understand their importance for the individual patient.
o Three spiritual needs underlie all religious traditions and are common to
all people:
1. Need for meaning and purpose
2. Need for love and relatedness
3. Need for forgiveness
Know the definition of culture and what it means in healthcare:
Culture: a shared system of beliefs, values, and behavioral expectations that provides
social structure for daily living. Culture influences roles and interactions with others as
well as within families and communities, and is apparent in the attitudes and institutions
unique to particular groups.
Culture in Healthcare: Nurses must be aware of, and sensitive to, the needs of a diverse
patient population.
Physiological variation: Studies have shown that certain racial and ethnic groups
are more prone to certain diseases and conditions.
, Reactions to pain: Health care researchers have discovered that many of the
expressions and behaviors exhibited by people in pain are culturally prescribed.
Some cultures allow or even encourage the open expression of emotions related
to pain, whereas other cultures encourage suppression of such emotions.
Mental Health: Most mental health norms originate in research and observations
made of White, middle-class people. But many ethnic groups have their own
norms and acceptable patterns of behavior for psychological well-being, as well
as different normal psychological reactions to certain situations.
Gender roles: In many cultures, the man is the dominant figure and generally
makes decisions for all family members. Knowing who is dominant in the family is
important when planning nursing care.
Language and Communication: Linguistic competence refers to the ability of
caregivers and organizations to understand and effectively respond to the
linguistic needs of patients and their families in a health care encounter.
o Nurses who work in a geographic area with a high popu- lation of
residents who speak a language other than English should learn pertinent
words and phrases in that language.
o To avoid misinterpretation of questions and answers, it is important to
use an interpreter who understands the health care system; friends and
family members often discouraged.
, o One of the most culturally variable forms of nonverbal communication is
eye contact.
American dominant culture emphasizes eye contact while
speaking,
Direct eye contact may be considered impolite or aggressive by
many Asians, Native Americans, Indochinese, Arabs, and
Appalachians.
Hispanics may look downward in deference to age, gender, social
position, economic status, or authority.
Muslim–Arab women often indicate modesty by avoiding eye
contact with men, and Hasidic Jewish men may avoid direct eye
contact with women
Orientation to Space and Time: Personal space is the area around a person
regarded as part of the person. When providing nursing care that involves
physical contact, you should know the patient’s cultural personal space
preferences.
Food and Nutrition: Food preferences and preparation methods often are
culturally influenced. Certain food groups serve as staples of the diet based on
culture and remain so even when members of that culture are living in a different
country.
o Dietary teaching must be individualized according to cultural values about
the social significance and sharing of food.
Family Support: In many cultural and ethnic groups, people have large, extended
families and consider the needs of any family member to be equal to or greater
than their own. Including the family in planning care for any patient is a major
component in nursing care to meet individualized needs.
Socioeconomic Factors: The amount of money a person or family has affects how
they meet their basic needs and maintain their health.
o At highest risk are children, older people, families headed by single
mothers, and the future generations of those now living in poverty.
o Poverty has long been a barrier to adequate health care. It prevents many
people from consistently meeting their basic human needs.
Health Disparities: Health disparities refer to health differences between groups
of people; they can affect how frequently a disease affects a group, how many
people get sick, or how often the disease causes death.
Know Asian/African American cultural preferences for health and who makes decisions:
African American
Family:
o Close and supportive extended-family relationships
o Strong kinship ties with nonblood relatives from church or organizational
and social groups
o Family unity, loyalty, and cooperation are important.
Study Guide Exam 1
Know the different types of wellness:
Wellness: an active state of being healthy, including living a lifestyle that promotes good
physical, mental, and emotional health.
Physical Dimension: The physical dimension includes genetic inheritance, age,
developmental level, race, and gender. These components strongly influence the
person’s health status and health practices.
Emotional Dimension: How the mind affects body functions and responds to
body conditions also influences health. Long-term stress affects body systems,
and anxiety affects health habits; conversely, calm acceptance and relaxation can
actually change the body’s responses to illness.
Intellectual Dimension: The intellectual dimension encompasses cognitive
abilities, educational background, and past experiences. These influence the
person’s responses to teaching about health and reactions to nursing care during
illness.
Environmental Dimension: The environment has many influences on health and
ill- ness. Housing, sanitation, climate, and pollution of air, food, and water are
elements in the environmental dimension.
Sociocultural Dimension: Health practices and beliefs are strongly influenced by
a per- son’s economic level, lifestyle, family, and culture. In general, low-income
groups, racial and ethnic minorities, and other underserved populations are less
likely to seek medical care to prevent illness and have fewer treatment options,
while high-income groups are more prone to stress-related habits and illness.
Spiritual Dimension: Spiritual beliefs and values are important components of a
person’s health and illness behaviors (see Chapter 45). It is important that nurses
respect these values and understand their importance for the individual patient.
o Three spiritual needs underlie all religious traditions and are common to
all people:
1. Need for meaning and purpose
2. Need for love and relatedness
3. Need for forgiveness
Know the definition of culture and what it means in healthcare:
Culture: a shared system of beliefs, values, and behavioral expectations that provides
social structure for daily living. Culture influences roles and interactions with others as
well as within families and communities, and is apparent in the attitudes and institutions
unique to particular groups.
Culture in Healthcare: Nurses must be aware of, and sensitive to, the needs of a diverse
patient population.
Physiological variation: Studies have shown that certain racial and ethnic groups
are more prone to certain diseases and conditions.
, Reactions to pain: Health care researchers have discovered that many of the
expressions and behaviors exhibited by people in pain are culturally prescribed.
Some cultures allow or even encourage the open expression of emotions related
to pain, whereas other cultures encourage suppression of such emotions.
Mental Health: Most mental health norms originate in research and observations
made of White, middle-class people. But many ethnic groups have their own
norms and acceptable patterns of behavior for psychological well-being, as well
as different normal psychological reactions to certain situations.
Gender roles: In many cultures, the man is the dominant figure and generally
makes decisions for all family members. Knowing who is dominant in the family is
important when planning nursing care.
Language and Communication: Linguistic competence refers to the ability of
caregivers and organizations to understand and effectively respond to the
linguistic needs of patients and their families in a health care encounter.
o Nurses who work in a geographic area with a high popu- lation of
residents who speak a language other than English should learn pertinent
words and phrases in that language.
o To avoid misinterpretation of questions and answers, it is important to
use an interpreter who understands the health care system; friends and
family members often discouraged.
, o One of the most culturally variable forms of nonverbal communication is
eye contact.
American dominant culture emphasizes eye contact while
speaking,
Direct eye contact may be considered impolite or aggressive by
many Asians, Native Americans, Indochinese, Arabs, and
Appalachians.
Hispanics may look downward in deference to age, gender, social
position, economic status, or authority.
Muslim–Arab women often indicate modesty by avoiding eye
contact with men, and Hasidic Jewish men may avoid direct eye
contact with women
Orientation to Space and Time: Personal space is the area around a person
regarded as part of the person. When providing nursing care that involves
physical contact, you should know the patient’s cultural personal space
preferences.
Food and Nutrition: Food preferences and preparation methods often are
culturally influenced. Certain food groups serve as staples of the diet based on
culture and remain so even when members of that culture are living in a different
country.
o Dietary teaching must be individualized according to cultural values about
the social significance and sharing of food.
Family Support: In many cultural and ethnic groups, people have large, extended
families and consider the needs of any family member to be equal to or greater
than their own. Including the family in planning care for any patient is a major
component in nursing care to meet individualized needs.
Socioeconomic Factors: The amount of money a person or family has affects how
they meet their basic needs and maintain their health.
o At highest risk are children, older people, families headed by single
mothers, and the future generations of those now living in poverty.
o Poverty has long been a barrier to adequate health care. It prevents many
people from consistently meeting their basic human needs.
Health Disparities: Health disparities refer to health differences between groups
of people; they can affect how frequently a disease affects a group, how many
people get sick, or how often the disease causes death.
Know Asian/African American cultural preferences for health and who makes decisions:
African American
Family:
o Close and supportive extended-family relationships
o Strong kinship ties with nonblood relatives from church or organizational
and social groups
o Family unity, loyalty, and cooperation are important.
