Nursing care of low-income battered Hispanic pregnant women.

Abstract

Nurses working with pregnant Hispanic women can create barriers in the health care system by not understanding or accepting the variety of ways in which the Hispanic culture perceives and treats pregnancy. This article describes nursing care of low-income, battered Hispanic pregnant women within the context of the Hispanic culture and discusses clinical and nursing implications for interventions. To deliver effective culturally competent care to battered Hispanic pregnant women, nurses need to have a thorough understanding of the variables that influence the health care of Hispanics in the United States, such as the scope of wife abuse in the Hispanic population, sociodemographic characteristics of the Hispanic population in the United States, Hispanic women's access to health care, pregnancy in the Hispanic population, and health care practices of Hispanics in the United States. This will facilitate screening, education, and guidance without upsetting the often precarious security of this period.