Diversity in the context of multicultural communities: implications for nursing and midwifery practice

Abstract

Australia and New Zealand are multicultural societies with a history of colonisation. The health of Indigenous peoples in colonised countries is less than acceptable with life expectancies well below their non-indigenous counterparts. Popular understandings of the concept of culture differ, so before beginning this chapter addressing diversity in multicultural Australia and New Zealand, we ask you, the reader, to take a moment to reflect on your own understanding of 'culture' and how this impacts on the provision of nursing and midwifery care.