Effectiveness of Transcultural Training Programs on Cultural Competence and Healthcare Disparities Among Nursing Students: A Convergent Parallel Mixed-Methods Study from Karachi, Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47672/ajhmn.2848Keywords:
Transcultural Training, Cultural Competence, Nursing Education, Healthcare Disparities, Multicultural Society, Karachi, Pakistan, Patient OutcomesAbstract
Purpose: Inadequate cultural competence in healthcare providers, and especially nurses who provide the frontline care in a city with more than 20 million people and diverse ethnic, linguistic, and religious populations, increases healthcare disparities in multicultural societies such as Karachi, Pakistan. The study is an analysis of how transcultural training programs can be used in nursing education as a strategic intervention to minimize these disparities.
Materials and Methods: The study will be based on the convergent parallel mixed-methods design, where the effectiveness of such programs is assessed to improve the cultural competence of nursing students and the following implications in improving patient outcomes are investigated in Karachi. One hundred nursing students (experimental and control groups) enrolled in a public and private nursing college were included in the study using pre- and post-training surveys using validated cultural competence scales and semi-structured interviews (n=25) and focus groups. Quantitative (paired t-tests, regression) and qualitative (thematic analysis) data analysis of data were triangulated to evaluate the shifts in cultural awareness, knowledge, and skills and their relationship with the decreased healthcare disparities.
Findings: The outcomes are anticipated to confirm the hypotheses that transcultural training is an effective method to enhance cultural competence of nursing students, that greater cultural competence is a mediator between reduced healthcare inequalities, and that culturally competent care would result in better patient satisfaction, medication adherence, and health outcomes.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The paper demonstrates the necessity to implement organized transcultural education in the nursing programs in Pakistan and provides evidence-based suggestions to the educators and policymakers who want to provide equitable and patient-focused care in multicultural urban environments.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Syed Yousaf Shah, Prof. Binti Mohamed Said, Ayaz Khan, Zeeshan Khan, Dr. Syed Yaqoob Shah
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