What is the role of cultural competence in ethnic minority consumer engagement? An analysis in community healthcare

Abstract

BackgroundEffective patient engagement has been associated with high quality health care. There is a dearth of evidence around effective engagement with consumers from ethnic minority backgrounds; specifically in relation to the role of cultural competence amongst healthcare professionals in effective engagement with consumers from ethnic minority backgrounds. To address this knowledge gap, we analysed the role of cultural competence in the consumer engagement approaches taken by community healthcare professionals working with consumers from ethnic minority backgrounds.MethodsSemi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 21 healthcare professionals employed across four community healthcare and affiliated services in four local government areas in Australia.ResultsAdopting patient-centric approaches (that seek to understand and be responsive to the patient as an individual) featured as an underpinning theme that transcended other emerging themes. Recognition of diversity within communities and individuals in those communities, all with their own story, was described as pivotal to effective engagement. This was encapsulated in the theme of Cultural standpoints and personal context that contained four further themes of: (1) Build foundations of trust and respect; (2) Diversify communication channels; (3) Generate system, service and community partnerships; (4) Take the time.ConclusionOur findings indicate that cultural competence and effective consumer engagement are closely linked in ethnic minority populations. Embedding cultural competence as a health system, service and professional capability is therefore critical to ensure equitable healthcare quality for consumers from all ethnic backgrounds.

The safety of health care for ethnic minority patients: a systematic review

“…The role of bilingual healthcare staff in positively addressing language and culture was identified in a number of studies [51,58,64]. Bilingual staff may improve communication and are highly valued by organisations and patients alike as they speak the patients' language and understand their culture context [25,77]. The evidence from the present review suggests that use of interpretation through a range of means is valuable in addressing some patient safety issues but may also leads to others.…”

“…The Australian Commission of Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) identifies consumer engagement strategies as central to improved health and healthcare safety outcomes for consumers [21,81]. Recent studies has also highlighted the role of patient and carer engagement among ethnic minority populations as critical for enhanced healthcare [25,77]. Consumers can act as safety buffer by identifying when the care is not adequate or unsafe [82].…”

Patterns of Informal Family Care During Acute Hospitalization of Older Adults from Different Ethno-Cultural Groups in Israel.

“…Family caregivers (especially the older generation) may also feel uncomfortable discussing the patient's condition with the medical staff. The important role should have cultural competence of healthcare workers [44] Study 1 demonstrated that family caregivers of the "Arab" older adults were more likely to stay during the night than the two other ethno-cultural groups. This could be related to the Arabic cultural tradition of respect for older adults.…”

Culturally Congruent Health Care of COVID-19 in Minorities in the United States: A Clinical Practice Paper From the National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Associations

“…The evidence supports that having caregivers, providers, researchers, educators, and leaders from within the population and communities being served is important. Harrison et al (2019) reported that ethnic minority populations experience obstacles when engaging with health care systems. In addition, it is of the upmost importance to embed cultural competence strategies into health systems and services to ensure professionals have knowledge and skills to engage individuals from a culture standpoint.…”