Treatment pathways must take account of cultural beliefs

Some communities may be hard to reach, but nurse leaders must ensure that clinical systems reflect the diverse range of beliefs that people hold

A few years ago, while working in Japan, I had a conversation with a nurse who described how worried she was about an older couple who lived near her. It appeared that both were becoming increasingly frail and the wife had been developing cognitive problems for some time.

The nurse had tried repeatedly to encourage the couple to receive medical and social support, but they refused.

In Japan, as in many advanced countries, there are well developed processes, protocols and pathways to help in situations like this. The question for the nurse and me was why there was reluctance to accept help.

‘Nurses need to take the time to understand cultural belief systems’

We talked