Cultural Adaptation, Workplace Environment, and Support Systems among Filipino Nurses at Darlington Memorial Hospital, United Kingdom
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Abstract
Internationally educated nurses are essential to the United Kingdom workforce, but migration requires adjustment to new professional expectations, communication practices, social environments, and support structures. This study described cultural adaptation, workplace environment, and support systems among Filipino nurses at Darlington Memorial Hospital (DMH), United Kingdom, and examined their relationships with selected demographic and employment characteristics. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 26 Filipino nurses who had worked at DMH for at least six months. A self-developed, expert-validated questionnaire assessed cultural adaptation, workplace environment, and support systems using a four-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients were used. Most participants were aged 31-40 years (69.24%), female (76.92%), married (53.85%), and had worked at DMH for 1-3 years (50.00%). Workplace environment had the highest domain mean (3.29, Strongly Agree), followed by support systems (3.11, Agree) and cultural adaptation (3.08, Agree). Understanding local healthcare practices and adapting nursing practice to cultural contexts was highly rated (3.46). Regular contact with family and friends was the strongest support item (3.85), whereas community participation (2.42) and housing support (2.46) were the lowest. Age was significantly correlated with all three domains; civil status with cultural adaptation and support systems; and length of service with cultural adaptation and workplace environment. Department was unrelated to the three domains. Filipino nurses reported generally positive workplace experiences, but community integration and practical settlement support remained weaker. Structured mentorship, culturally responsive orientation, psychosocial support, and practical relocation assistance may strengthen adaptation.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Accepted 2026-09-14
Published 2026-09-24
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