Cultural Competence: Developing Policies To Address the Health Care Needs of Culturally Diverse Clientele

Abstract

Home health care organizations striving to effectively serve their clientele may be experiencing barriers, one of which is serving a culturally and linguistically diverse population. The National Center for Cultural Competence (NCCC) identifies seven salient reasons in this article for incorporating cultural competence into organizational policy. The article provides an examplary definition that can be adapted and useful to home health care organizations. A checklist, developed by the NCCC, is also included to facilitate policy making that supports culturally and linguistically competent health care delivery.

Health-Seeking Behaviors and Barriers to Health Care of Southeast Asian Immigrants: Implications for the Home Health Nurse

“…Crucial factors in the delivery of culturally competent home health care include an understanding of different beliefs systems related to: the etiology of illness, disease, and disability; concepts and perceptions of health, illness, and well-being; reactions to illness, loss of health, and death; spirituality; and preferences for and use of complementary and/or alternative therapies (CAT). In addition, the home health nurse should be knowledgeable of the entire sociocultural environment: the individual, the family, the informal network of supports within the community, and other formal support systems that affect health outcomes (Goode & Sochalingam, 2000).…”

“…On the organization level, health care providers will be under growing pressure to become more responsive to patients' diverse needs in the increasingly competitive health care market. However, according to the six levels (cultural destructiveness, cultural incapacity, cultural blindness, cultural precompetency, cultural competency, and cultural proficiency) in the cultural competence model (Cross, Bazron, Dennis, & Isaacs, 1989), Goode and Sochalingam (2000) conclude that most health and human service organizations fall somewhere between cultural incapacity and cultural blindness.…”

“…Individual and family health beliefs and behaviors are informed, mediated, and ultimately defined by culture; therefore, culture affects health outcomes. Goode and Sochalingam (2000) argue that the differences derived from nationality, ethnicity, and culture as well as from family background and individual experience affect the heath beliefs and behaviors of both clients and providers. Furthermore, these differences influence the expectations that clients and providers have of each other.…”

Methods and design of a 10-week multi-component family meals intervention: a two group quasi-experimental effectiveness trial

“…We may encounter challenges engaging and developing trust with the target population, an issue that is common to intervention research with economically disadvantaged families [45–47]. However, this study was designed to minimize this potential barrier by implementing the intervention at a local faith-based community center, which has established relationships with the target population.…”

“…Randomization was not appropriate for this study because preserving sample size and developing trust with the site/participating families was paramount [47–49]. We will overcome this limitation by assessing potential between- group differences at baseline and, if identified, will be controlled for in the analyses.…”