Abstract

Aims: Given the wide cultural diversity of patients in the current world, nurses need to have great cultural competence. This study aimed to explore the concept of cultural competence in Iranian nurses. Materials and Methods: This qualitative study was conducted in 2017-2018 using Graneheim and Lundman's approach to qualitative content analysis. A purposeful sample of eighteen clinical nurses was recruited with maximum variation from hospitals of Isfahan and Ahvaz, Iran. Data were collected through eighteen semistructured interviews and simultaneously analyzed through directed content analysis. Findings: Data analysis resulted in the formation of thirteen subcategories which were respectively grouped into the four categories of cultural cognition (cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, and cultural insight), cultural care intention (cultural encounter, cultural desire, and cultural eagerness), cultural flexibility (cultural attitude, cultural sensitivity, and resolving cultural conflicts), and cultural care skills (communication skills, cultural evaluation skills, behavioral skills, and skills to get feedback about cultural care). Conclusion: Iran has many ethnic and religious groups which have a variety of subcultures, so Iranian nurses need to be sensitive about cultural diversity in health-care settings and have the cultural competence to facilitate the delivery of quality culturally competent care to the patients of different cultures.