Introduction: Nurses face ethical dilemmas on a daily basis, which require experience, critical thinking and the ability to assess the ethical principles involved in the problem at hand and make the best ethical decision to help solve the problem. Healthcare professionals in cross-cultural clinical settings need to be able to convey an understanding of the patient's cultural beliefs, while communicating the urgency of intervention and the impact on survival if patients choose to delay intervention while engaging in cultural practices. Purpose: The aim of this thesis is to identify the impact of ethical and cultural dilemmas faced by nurses in African countries and to examine the impact of socio-economic factors on their practice. Methods: In this thesis, we used a descriptive research method to review relevant scientific and professional literature in English and Slovenian. We used a timeframe of 2014 to 2024 and remote access to foreign bibliographic electronic databases CINAHL, Medline, Google Scholar and the DiKUL web portal. Results: We have found that nurses in Africa often face overload due to staff shortages, which limits their ability to provide holistic and culturally sensitive care. In addition, a lack of resources creates inequalities in the health system, making their work even more difficult. Limited access to health services often leads to the search for alternative forms of treatment, which become crucial for many people living in remote areas. Nevertheless, health professionals express a desire to better understand cultural practices and to integrate more of this knowledge into their practice. Discussion and conclusion: Cultural awareness and competence are key to quality health care in Africa, where nurses face challenges such as stigma, poor working conditions, lack of resources, language barriers and religious diversity. Integrating traditional healers into the health system can improve the treatment of patients facing health problems. Training of health professionals on ethical and cultural dilemmas and tailored educational approaches are needed to effectively treat patients in the culturally diverse environments of African countries.
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