Foreword

Drs. Marilyn R. McFarland and Hiba B. Wehbe- Alamah are the foremost leaders, scholars, and experts in the world on Madeleine M. Leininger’s Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality (also referred to as the Culture Care Theory), the Ethnonursing Research Method, and culturally congruent and competent nursing and health care. They are also pioneers in using metasynthesis to analyze ethnonursing studies guided by the Culture Care Theory to discover new and exciting benefits and values of the theory to advance transcultural nursing knowledge and skills. Their metasynthesis investigations also are instrumental in opening opportunities for interprofessional collaboration in research, education, and practice.

Prior to her passing in 2012, Dr. Leininger personally entrusted Drs. McFarland and Wehbe-Alamah with the honor and responsibility of writing future editions of her internationally acclaimed books. In 2015, Drs. McFarland and Wehbe-Alamah published a comprehensive, fully updated third edition of Leininger’s Culture Care Diversity and Universality: A worldwide Nursing Theory. Prolific and facile writers, Drs. McFarland and Wehbe-Alamah worked diligently to complete the fourth edition of Dr. Leininger’s popular Transcultural Nursing: Concepts, Theories, Research, and Practices. Dr. Leininger was a mentor colleague and friend to both the authors for many years, and their close relationship enables them to provide unique insights into the history, focus, and significance of transcultural nursing and examine key concepts, principles, guidelines, and policy statements relative to culturally congruent and competent health care. Drs. McFarland and Wehbe-Alamah provide the most comprehensive and authoritative compendium of Leininger’s theory, research findings, cultural assessment, and other enablers or instruments that are available.

The fourth edition of Transcultural Nursing is a must-have text for the professional library of nurses and health care providers in other disciplines who strive to provide care to clients of diverse and similar cultures in meaningful, safe and beneficial ways—commonly referred to as culturally congruent or culturally competent care. Nursing and others in health-related fields will find a wellspring of information that will guide them in their quest for knowledge, understanding, and care of people from various cultures around the world. This is an authoritative, substantive, comprehensive text with both theoretical and practical information on transcultural nursing that will be useful for nurses and other health care providers in clinical practice, education, research, administration, and consultation.

I congratulate Dr. McFarland and Dr. Wehbe-Alamah on this outstanding contribution to transcultural nursing and health care.