MADELEINE LEININGER: BRIDGING THE CULTURAL DIVIDE

Madeleine Leininger: Bridging the Cultural Divide through Care
Stephanie R.
Cleveland State University
Abstract
This paper will outline Madeleine Leininger’s prominent theory, its origins, and its purpose. The discipline of transcultural nursing, its distinctive language, ethnonursing research method, and Sunrise Enabler tool will also be explored. These components equipped nurses to provide patients with individualized, appropriate care; this led to improved health outcomes. Finally, the effect of Madeleine Leininger’s contributions to nursing will be examined. Her idea of congruent care was the catalyst for a multitude of federal legislation making culture a requisite, legal consideration and convinced society of the benefits of cultural diversity.
Madeleine Leininger: Bridging the Cultural Divide through Care
The hallmark of a true profession is the ability to demonstrate its unique body of knowledge (Mensik, Martin, Scott, & Horton, 2011). Madeleine Leininger’s transcultural nursing discipline and its revolutionary companion theory meets this threshold. Counted as “the most significant breakthrough in nursing…in the 20th century,” she forever changed how nurses thought and spoke about healthcare (Leininger, 2002, p. 190). This paper will present a high-level overview of Madeleine Leininger’s contributions to nursing and their influence, as well as reveal the author’s connection to the theorist.
Cultural Care Diversity and Universality: The Theory
The Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality (hereinafter “Culture Care Theory”), Madeleine Leininger’s seminal work, was conceptualized in the mid-1950s and sought to describe, explain, and predict nursing similarities and differences in relation to care and its role in human culture (Leininger, 2001). To provide significant and effective care, the theorist reasonsed, a nurse had to know what various cultures valued about wellness, health, illness, etc. and use this understanding to guide their

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