Cultural Competence In Healthcare

Cultural competence is defined as possessing the skills and knowledge necessary to appreciate, respect, and work with individuals from different cultures. It is a concept that requires self-awareness, awareness and understanding of cultural differences, and the ability to adapt to clinical skills and practices as needed

Critically analyse one of the main challenges, barriers, and enablers for cultural competence in health care when working in a cross-cultural environment.

Cultural competence can be defined as using the ability of one’s awareness, attitude, knowledge and skill to effectively interact with a patient’s many cultural differences. Madeline Leininger, a pioneer on transcultural nursing describes it this way; “a formal area of study and practice focused on comparative human-care differences and similarities of the beliefs, values and patterned lifeways of cultures to provide culturally congruent, meaningful, and beneficial health care to people” (Barker, 2009, p. 498). The importance of cultural diversity in healthcare allows for the delivery of appropriate cultural autonomy. Showing respect for others will lead to trust between nurse and

Cultural Competence is important for many reasons. First, it can help develop culturally sensitive practices which can in turn help reduce barriers that affect treatment in health care settings. Second, it can help build understanding, which is critical in competence, in order wards knowing whom the person

Cultural competency is the capacity of people or services to include ethnic/cultural considerations into all aspects of their work related to health promotion, disease prevention and other and other healthcare interventions (Cultural competence is important for several reasons, (Purnell, 2008a).First, it can contribute in the development of culturally sensitive practices which can reduce barriers that effect treatment in healthcare settings. Second, it can promote understanding, which is detrimental in cultural competence assessment, to know whom, the individuals known as the primary care provider and whom they view as the primary healer, can attribute to the promotion of trust and increase the person’s interest in participating

Cultural competence in health care describes the ability to provide care to patients with diverse values, beliefs and behaviors, including tailoring health care delivery to meet patients’ social, cultural and linguistic needs. The need for healthcare systems to increase cultural competence and personalize care for ethnic patient minorities should not be ignored. Healthcare systems should promote better understanding and communication between diverse ethnic patients and caregivers. Hospitals should design a system that caters to the needs of all the populations they serve and not just apply a one-size-fits-all approach. Becoming a culturally competent health care organization is a critical component in reducing health care disparities.

Cultural competency not only encompasses race or ethnicity, but a quality of care for all individuals. Studies illustrate that cultural competency is currently lacking in the health care field; this results in the disparities that exist among the minority population with low

As the diverse populations of the United States (U.S.) continues to grow the need for cultural competency in healthcare delivery requires culturally competent healthcare providers. Each population has its own particular norms and practices that guide their lifestyles; therefore, a challenge arises for health care providers to learn to provide culturally sensitive care to clients from diverse cultural backgrounds (Waite and Calamaro 2010). The ever changing population of the U.S. signifies a much needed change in health care delivery to different cultures. The U.S. Bureau of Census (1992) predicts that by the year 2020 only 53 % of the population will be of white European decent.

Cultural and linguistic competence is an essential component in the work towards addressing and eliminating health disparities because it will allow everyone to truly understand exactly what the problem is and have common goals. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, definition of linguistic competence is “the capacity of an organization and its personnel to convey information in a manner that is easily understood”. This means that everyone is on an equal level if they are illiterate, speak a different language, have a disability, etc. Treatment is half of healthcare, but the interactions between doctors and patients is the other half, and arguably more impotent. Patients will be less likely to follow the instructions their physician gives them if they do not feel respected. It is a fact that black and Latinos

Cultural competence embraces: ... gaining knowledge of different cultural practices and world views. Developing skills for communication and interaction across cultures.[ There is excellent evidences shows that cultural competence training improves the knowledge of health profession), and good evidence that cultural competence training improves the attitudes and skills of health professionals and impacts patient satisfaction Cultural competence training shows promise as a strategy for improving the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of health professionals. . Directly interacting with patients from different cultural backgrounds helps nurses increase their cultural competence. s. Health care providers must possess the ability and the knowledge to communicate and to understand how health behaviors are influenced by culture. Having this ability and knowledge can eliminate barriers to the delivery of health care.

The BusinessDictionary.com defines cultural competency as, “A set of behaviors, policies, and attitudes which form a system or agency which allows cross-cultural groups to effectively work professionally in situations. This includes human behaviors, languages, communications, actions, values, religious beliefs, social groups, and ethic perceptions. Individuals are competent to function on their own and within an organization where multi-cultural situations will be present” (2016).

Cultural competency is an important factor when working with patients in health care, however to be culturally competent, is to understand and communicate with your patient to feel cared for and understand that you’re there to help and not judge. Utilizing Cultural competency to your advantage to promote better results with patients that include, participation, learning, and higher attendance.

What is cultural competence? When reading our book and looking at scholarly articles for me to sum up what I think cultural competence is, I found myself rereading each definition over and over. To me cultural competence is understanding that each person is unique and their care should be as well. Truong, Paradies, & Priest (2014) state “cultural competency is a broad concept used to describe a variety of interventions that aim to improve the accessibility and effectiveness of health care services for people from racial/ethnic minorities”. It is important for a healthcare worker to not stereotype a person based on their appearance or race. Not all people that appear alike believe in the same things. In their article Patient-centered care:

As the United States becomes a more racially and ethnically diverse nation, opportunities and challenges for health care providers to generate and use culturally competent services is growing rapidly. At our hospital our providers need to respond to patients’ varied perspectives, values, and behaviors about health and well-being. We must effectively deliver health care services that meet the social, cultural, and language needs of our patients. When we fail to understand and manage our social and cultural differences it has significant health consequences for minority groups.

This concept enables healthcare professionals to deliver services that are considerate and open-minded to health beliefs, practices and specific needs of diverse patients. (National Institute of Health, 2015) Cultural competency is an important concept in reducing