Attending to Communication and Patterns of Interaction: Culturally Sensitive Mental Health Care for Groups of Urban, Ethnically Diverse, Impoverished, and Underserved Women.
BACKGROUND
The United States is ethnically diverse. This diversity presents challenges to nurses, who, without empirical evidence to design culturally congruent interventions, may contribute to mental health care disparities.


OBJECTIVE
Using Leininger's theory of culture care diversity and universality, this study documented communication and interaction patterns of ethnically diverse, urban, impoverished, and underserved women.


DESIGN
Using a community-based participatory research framework, 61 Black, Hispanic, and White women participated in focus groups around their experiences with anxiety/depression. Researchers recorded verbal communication, nonverbal behavior, and patterns of interaction.


RESULTS
The women's communication and interaction patterns gave evidence of three themes that were evident across all focus groups and five subthemes that emerged along ethnic lines.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest cultural universalities and cultural uniquenesses relative to the communication and interaction patterns of urban, ethnically diverse, impoverished, and underserved women that may assist in the design of culturally sensitive mental health care.
['Molewyk Doornbos|Mary|M|', 'Zandee|Gail Landheer|GL|', 'DeGroot|Joleen|J|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D003142:Communication D018864:Cultural Diversity D065246:Culturally Competent Care D005006:Ethnicity D005260:Female D017144:Focus Groups D006801:Humans D008605:Mental Health Services D008875:Middle Aged D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations D011203:Poverty D011568:Psychiatric Nursing D014481:United States D014505:Urban Population D035862:Vulnerable Populations D014930:Women D055815:Young Adult
depression anxiety and anxiety disorders cross-cultural issues women’s mental health