Bringing together the crucially important topics of cultural competence
and compassion for the first time, this book explores how to practise
'culturally competent compassion' in healthcare settings - that is,
understanding the suffering of others and wanting to do something about
it using culturally appropriate and acceptable caring interventions.
This text first discusses the philosophical and religious roots of
compassion before investigating notions of health, illness, culture and
multicultural societies. Drawing this information together, it then
introduces two invaluable frameworks for practice, one of cultural
competence and one of culturally competent compassion, and applies them
to care scenarios. Papadopoulos goes on to discuss: how nurses in
different countries understand and provide compassion in practice; how
students learn about compassion; how leaders can create and champion
compassionate working environments; and how we can, and whether we
should, measure compassion.
Culturally Competent Compassion is essential reading for healthcare
students and its combination of theoretical content and practice
application provides a relevant and interesting learning experience. The
innovative model for practice presented here will also be of interest to
researchers exploring cultural competence and compassion in healthcare.
