Background: Anti-Semitism in the form of violent acts is on the rise in France and throughout Europe. The All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Anti-Semitism (2015) prepared a report on the incidents of documented attacks of Jewish individuals in Europe. These incidents and the threat of targeted violence are contributing to the out-migration of Jewish individuals in France to Israel, Canada, and the United States.
Currently, the exact number of French Jewish immigrants moving to North America is unknown. According to the Greater Miami Jewish Federation (GMJF, 2015) in the weeks following the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks in France, the Jewish Agency for Israel, an external partner of the GMJF, received more than 1,000 calls per day from concerned French Jews inquiring about the possibility of resettling in Israel and elsewhere. The growing population of new French Jewish immigrants to the United States creates an opportunity for the discipline of nursing to address the challenge of health promotion in these individuals as they settle in their new environment. According to Berry (1997), the degree of acculturation plays a major role on the overall health of new immigrants.
Methods: An extensive review of the literature from (1933 to the present) was conducted on individuals of the French Jewry. This review used several databases, including CINAHL, EBSCO, ERIC, Medline, SocINDEX, and other sources including CNN, the American Spectator, Bloomberg, and The Washington Post. This search revealed scant information on how fear and displacement may result in acculturative stress that may impact health outcomes of newly migrated Jewish individuals. The search terms included the following: individuals of the French Jewry, culturally tailored nursing care and nursing strategies, and health and well-being. The writer developed strategies from the review of the literature that focused on acculturation, challenges faced by immigrants, and the pivotal role that nursing must play to impact the immigrant’s physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and economic well-being.
Strategies: The strategies developed to address the barriers to health education and positive health outcomes include culturally tailored care as illustrated in Purnell’s Model (2014). Purnell’s seminal model provides the rigor and appropriate framework for understanding the social and cultural impact for relocation in the French Jewish immigrant community. Purnell’s Model (2014); was used as a guide for nurses to maintain cultural competence in interacting with and providing care to French Jewish immigrants. Nurses are uniquely situated to coordinate and facilitate an interdisciplinary approach to delivering culturally sensitive strategies that will impact the care of French Jewish immigrants. To illustrate the strategies, the Bivins & Hall Model of Culturally-Tailored Nursing Care (2017) (figure 1) was developed to elucidate the components of physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and economic well-being.
Conclusion: According to the American Nurses Association Nursing’s Social Policy Statement (ANA, 2010), nurses must use and implement evidence-based nursing research to change health policies, including policies addressing health promotion for improvement of quality of life for newly migrated French Jewish individuals. Berry’s (1997) theory of acculturation will be used to reinforce optimal health. Consistent with this theory of acculturation, the Bivins & Hall Model will provide data that may be used for future studies to close the gap of knowledge necessary to meet the needs of French Jewish individuals. It is essential for nurses to incorporate the Bivins & Hall strategies during the critical time of adjustment for newly migrated individuals to improve health outcomes.
Recommendations for Future research: The literature review did not uncover any information addressing health issues in French Jewish immigrants in the United States. Specific research to generate key components is needed to assist this population during the transition to their new lives in the United States. To incorporate these strategies, the Bivins & Hall Model (2017) must be used to guide nurses in the respective Jewish organizations to provide nursing education in these communities, including but not limited to the following: local Hillel organizations, Chabad, the French Consulate, the Jewish Chamber of Commerce, and local synagogues.
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