FERNANDES, Alexandre Bastos    MONTEIRO, Ana Paula. Contribution to the study of cultural competence of mental health nurses in Portugal. []. , 14, pp.39-47. ISSN 1647-2160.  https://doi.org/10.19131/rpesm.0104.

BACKGROUND: The benefits of integrating cultural competence into health care have been well established, especially in the area of mental health nursing. AIMS: This research aimed to evaluate the multicultural competence in mental health in a sample of 306 nurses, using the Portuguese version of Multicultural Mental Health Awareness Scale - MMHAS (Khawaja, Gomes & Turner 2008). METHODS: After a process of translation and cultural validation, the Portuguese version, together with a socio-demographic questionnaire, was applied to a sample of 306 nurses, with a mean age of 35.4 years and standard deviation of 9.8 years; 25.2% female and 74.8 % male, working in diversified services. The data collection was conducted online, and ethical criteria for this procedure have been met. RESULTS: 75.8% of the participants reported direct contact with situations of multiculturalism in their professional contexts. Overall, the scores obtained with the application of MMHAS show that participants in the study have low levels of multicultural competences in mental health. However, nurses who have had previous multicultural training have significantly higher levels of cultural competence in mental health, in all dimensions of the scale (Cultural awareness, cultural knowledge and cultural skills/abilities). CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the need for structured programs in multicultural training in mental health nurses in Portugal - initial training and advanced training in culturally sensitive healthcare practice.

: Mental health; Transcultural nursing; Cultural competency.

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