COMMUNITYBASED CULTURAL COMPETENCY

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COMMUNITY-BASED CULTURAL COMPETENCY

• Yvonne J. Graham

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Introduction

• Globally, our societies have become more racially
  and ethnically diverse, and more interdependent
• Health care institutions and community-based
  providers must develop ways to manage their
  clients varied perspectives, values and behaviors
  about health and well-being
• Failure to do so can result in negative health
  outcomes
• Emerging field of cultural competence is a
  strategy to improve quality of care, increase
  access and reduce health disparities

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Purpose of Seminar

• Define cultural competence in health care
• Examine elements of cultural competence and their
  importance in community-based health care
• Increase awareness of cultural assumptions and
  how our personal cultural biases affect our
  interaction with others
• Expand knowledge about how to work effectively in
  a multi-cultural environment

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What is Culturally Competent Health Care?

• A coordinated and integrated system of care in
  which individuals, organizations and communities
  make decisions or take actions that meet
  consumers expectations within a social and
  cultural framework, while at the same time
  achieving the health care goal.

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Cultural Competence An Integrated Approach
Organizational Systems
Integrated Area of Cultural Competency
Workforce Proficiency
Community Collaboration
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Organizational Systems

• Mission Statement and Identification
• Internal Organizational Assessment
• - Policies
• - Training/staffing
• - Language proficiency
• - Marketing/materials
• - Benchmarking/evaluation
• Assessment of Community Needs
• - Demographics
• - Socio-economics
• -Cultural characteristics

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Workforce Proficiency

• Knowledge and Awareness
• Knowledge about current theories and models in
  cross-cultural health care, demographic trends,
  and the impact of social and cultural factors on
  health behaviors
• Familiarity with different cultural competency
  models
• Understanding diversity and recognizing
  stereotypes and biases in the workplace
• Awareness of cultural assumptions and stereotypes
• - Personal cultural biases and behaviors
• - How culture impacts the way we see and respond
  to others
• - Consumers cultures and their expectations of
  the health care
• delivery system

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Workforce Proficiency Contd

• Skills
• Ability to avoid stumbling blocks in
  cross-cultural communication
• Ability to identify and mitigate the impact of
  stereotypes on the quality of health care
• Ability to handle strong emotions
• Ability to challenge misinformation
• Ability to handle cross-cultural conflicts
• Ability to show appreciation for consumers frame
  of reference

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Workforce Proficiency Contd

• Client Encounter
• Recognizing non-verbal cues
• Language proficiency
• Recognizing differences in values and belief
  systems
• Avoiding cultural stereotypes
• Recognizing and managing differences in
  expression of pain and illness

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Community Collaboration

• Involving community representatives in the
  organizations planning, implementation and
  quality improvement activities
• Engaging in formal/informal partnerships with
  community based providers
• Hiring community members, sharing resources and
  investing in communities
• Using community members as culture brokers

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Achieving Cultural Competency

• Understanding the demographic, social and
  cultural characteristics of populations being
  served
• Understanding how these factors enable or impede
  the use and delivery of health care
• Devising strategies for organizational systems,
  staffing, outreach and community relationships
  that respond effectively to the needs of
  multi-cultural populations