Nursing process in an indigenous population healthcare service

Abstract

Objective  to characterize how the nursing process is applied in the Indigenous Health House, identifying the challenges, adaptations, and strategies necessary to integrate indigenous peoples’ cultural and ethnic specificities.

Method  a qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory study conducted between January and March 2022 in an Indigenous Health House within the Guamá-Tocantins Special Indigenous Health District, Brazil. Semi-structured interviews and content analysis were used.

Results  thirteen professionals participated, including four clinical nurses and nine nursing technicians. Eight self-identified as mixed race, four as indigenous, belonging to four distinct ethnicities (Wai-Wai, Gavião, Munduruku, and Amanayé), and one as black. Emerging topics emerged regarding the nursing process organization and challenges, resulting in three categories: The nursing process in indigenous health: organization and challenges; Intercultural care in nursing practice; and Nursing team care singularities.

Final considerations and implications for practice  there is a superficial alignment between intercultural care and the biomedical model, revealing a gap in the direct relationship among elements highlighted in indigenous health conferences, nursing processes, and curricular guidelines. This underscores the importance of strategies that effectively integrate the cultural and ethnic specificities of indigenous peoples into practice.

Keywords:
Cultural Diversity; Health Services; Indigenous Peoples; Nursing; Nursing Process