Nursing education and assessment of depression and anxiety in multicultural mental health care

The purpose of this thesis was to review the literature connected to nursing of clients from multicultural backgrounds who are experiencing mental health disorders, with a focus on depressive disorders and anxiety disorders. This research was then used to develop an assessment tool which could be used in the project that this thesis is tied to: National Research and Development Project to Develop Standardized Competency Evaluation for Generalized Registered Nurses (180 ECTS) which is running from March 1st 2018 to December 31st 2020. Information was collected with a literature search which used key terms as search criteria and used the databases Science Direct, CIHNAHL and Academic Elite for the primary literature search. Some secondary sources were used from Google Scholar and Research Gate as well as books from E-Book central to provide a wider scope for review when needed. All articles used had to be published between 2014 and 2020, they had to be in English and the full text had to be available. When possible, they were also peer reviewed. Results from the study indicated that good communication is important in mental health, and the concept of cultural desire should be explored in nursing education. Cultural desire is defined as a desire to learn about different cultures and the impact they have on individuals who identify with them. Things like stigma and negative interactions can be reduced by having more open conversations with patients. There is a high importance on teaching students how to communicate in a culturally appropriate way while respecting and showing compassion to the patient as an individual as research shows that these qualities have positive feedback from patients who have been treated for anxiety or depressive disorders. This thesis provides an overview of important factors in multicultural mental health nursing and this information has been used to create a model for a possible assessment tool which could be utilized in the larger project