A Concept Analysis in relation to the Cultural Competency of the Palliative Care Workforce in Meeting the Needs of Young People from South Asian Cultures

Although recent UK and European health and social care policy and legislation has expressed a commitment towards making services equitable and accessible to families from BAME cultures, it is apparent that members of South Asian communities may be particularly vulnerable to inequalities in respect of palliative care. The paper clarifies the meanings of cultural competency and identifies within nursing and health-related literature how the cultural competency of the palliative care workforce impacts on the holistic care of young people with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions from South Asian cultures. The paper concludes the concept of cultural competency is complex, multi-faceted and often expressed ambiguously. There is an urgent need to develop a robust tool to assess cultural competency in practice so that the concept is understood as universally integral to healthcare, irrespective of a person’s race or ethnicity.