Women's health and the self‐care paradox. A model to guide self‐care readiness

Based on the teaching of their culture, women have reasons for their health practices. Nurses, in turn, based on the teaching of their culture of origin, with superimposed professional "scientific"; culture beliefs, have reasons for the health behaviors they think their clients should practice. We call these beliefs cultural reasoning. When they clash, culture shock occurs, possibly leading to power struggles, fencing, and withdrawal from care, or the giving of care. We describe a model consisting of four self‐care paradigms: two congruent and two noncongruent. Understanding them can help the nurse assess the client's and the nurse's self‐care readiness.