Empower Minority Populations

The increasing population of immigrants in the United States has contributed to health disparities in the health care system. Cultural competence can remove health disparities by eliminating personal biases, and treating every person with respect. Simply recognizing and accepting different cultures is not enough, one must be able to consistently recognize and understand the differences in order to be culturally competent. Knowledge and culturally competent practices are a must for nurses to deliver quality care in our rapidly changing multicultural world (Edelman, 2014 p. 25).

The answer is no simple or a single solution. Rather, the answers must address the range of causes of disparities (inequalities in education, housing, and health insurance) and empower multiple levels of change ( patients, providers, health systems, policymakers, communities). These levels of change are most commonly found in the fundamental public health Socio-Ecological model. In this model, there are 5 levels, intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, institutions and policy, that could be focused on when implementing solutions to public health concerns, which health disparities would be considered. One method that should be looked at very closely in the institutional level of the model is reorganizing the curriculum of physician education in order to incorporate cultural competency. Such training can improve provider knowledge, attitudes and skills, which may be an important precursor to addressing unconscious provider bias. Drawing upon evidence in social cognitive psychology, Van Rhys Burgess have outlined strategies and skills for healthcare providers to prevent unconscious racial biases from influencing the clinical encounter. Their framework includes: 1) Enhancing internal motivation and avoiding external pressure to reduce bias, 2) Enhancing understanding of the psychosocial basis of bias, 3) Enhancing providers’ confidence in their

I am a Brazilian black male with military experience and diplomatic knowledge who grew up in a low-income household in a developing country. In addition, I have traveled to about 35 countries and am acquainted with people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, religions, ethnic groups and nationalities. These characteristics and experiences allow me to see the world from perspectives that are unusual for most people. Besides being open-minded and non- judgemental toward all my future patients, I personally understand the difficulties faced by people of color, immigrants and individuals from low-income families. In sum, my background and my cultural literacy will allow me to be a sensitive and culturally aware patient-centered care.

I have learned that it is important that educators  and health providers be trained on cultural competency to understand the population they are serving. Marks, Sims, and Osher (King, Sims, & Osher, n.d.) define cultural competency  as a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals and enables that system, agency, or those professionals to work effectively in cross–cultural situations" ( as cited in Cross et al., 1989; Isaacs & Benjamin, 1991). Health providers and educators should investigate demographic patterns or trends in the place where they live and work. This brings awareness of the types of cultures that they might come across when they are working with people. Organizations should integrate and implement policies that promote the value of  diversity, self-assessment, manage the dynamics of difference, acquire and institutionalize cultural knowledge, and adapt to diversity and the cultural contexts of communities they serve (Georgetown  University, 2004). Georgetown University (2004) also stresses that culture competency grows gradually and is always open for improvement.

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.

In the United States today cultural diversity is growing more prevalent every day. The report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM: Unequal treatment, 2002) presented information that racial and ethnic minorities of all ages receive lower quality health care compared to their non-minority counterparts. Every effort should be made to stop the disparities surrounding cultural differences while attempting to understand the cultural health behaviors, increase cultural

Melanie Tervalon and Jann Murray-García differentiate cultural humility and cultural competence based upon the longevity involved in the pursuit of expertise in both concepts. They insinuate that cultural competence is based primarily on facts that generalize the behaviors of minorities and low-income populations receiving health care services. On the contrary, cultural humility places more importance on the provider’s personal awareness of their response to the individual needs of patients without constricting guidelines that overlook challenges involved in meeting their health concerns. Melanie Tervalon and Jann Murray-García mentioned that there is not an adequate amount of medical training aimed towards exposure to diverse populations.

In this great nation we live in today that has been vastly increasing diversity bring so many great opportunities. But with these great opportunities there are also challenges that are continually looked over constantly. One of the challenges is our health care system that fails to deliver culturally competent services. Cultural competency helps to enable providers to deliver services that are respectful to diverse patients. This helps with patients own health beliefs, practices and cultural and linguistic needs. This is why this training is needed in every health facility. Many doctors go through this problem not understanding their patient’s needs. If I were a doctor I would use this skill. Certain racial and ethnic minorities receive poorer

Cultural competence, or the ability of health care providers to function well in different cultural contexts [7], has increasingly become a focus in U.S. medical schools. More schools are recognizing the growth in national diversity and the importance of having a health care workforce armed with knowledge of how to remain culturally sensitive and aware to provide the best possible care for all patients. According to Kripalani et al., research shows that cultural competence can improve communication and collaboration efforts between the patient and physician, thereby improving clinical outcomes, and eventually reducing health disparities [14]. Additionally, cultural competency has been shown to correlate with quality care to minority populations [15]. However, the strides made towards cultural competence of physicians have not been consistent across all medical schools as some medical students are trained extensively in this field while others are not trained at all. It would not be an easy task as it would require changing the entire curriculum and getting support from administrators [13], but the hope is to integrate cultural competence into all medical school curricula to arm future physicians with the tools they need to care for those of all different

With a growing and diverse United States population, pursuing the goal of cultural competence in the workforce and health-care system emerges as a leading strategy in reducing disparities. Cultural competency, is defined as the ability of health-care providers to function effectively in the context of cultural differences (IOM, 2001). As a healthcare administrator it is important to employ several initiatives to increase the cultural competency within the workforce including the recruitment and retention of minority staff as well as providing training to increase cultural awareness, knowledge and skills. Another strategy to employ in strengthening the relationship between the patient and provider is to create buy-in from community leaders and stakeholders when launching initiatives geared toward the reduction of health disparities. One example of this type of approach is the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) projects funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). REACH projects aim to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities in minority communities. For example, a 2010 study by Liao et. al., documented overall decreasing trends in the prevalence of smoking among men in Asian communities served by the REACH project. By engaging the communities that they serve and forming community partnerships, projects such as REACH can be been successful in targeting health behaviors and consequently reducing health disparities in communities of

Minority care quality in California is rapidly declining because of the shortage of minority physicians in practice. One might wonder why such a problem exists, but differences in cultural and ethnic identities between doctors and patients alter the quality of care because of preexisting stereotypes, health disparities, and linguistic gaps. Minorities in California consist of those other than non-Hispanic whites, and with their growing presence, they are becoming further underrepresented in the medical field. The foundation of this problem is the declining number of minority students attending medical school and the lack of diversity in medical school faculty. With a greater ethnic diversity in the medical field, comes a better quality of

As the United States becomes more and more culturally diverse one cannot help but be exposed to various cultures and worldviews. America has long been called the melting pot, and that term has never been truer than it is today. According to Green and Reinckens (2013) the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that by the year 2041 the U.S. population will be a majority minority. In other words, less than half of the population will be non-Hispanic, single race Caucasian. This growing diversity makes cultural competence in healthcare a necessary

Cultural competence is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of the individual health care professionals when they treat individual patients who are from different race, ethnicity, and religion and diverse backgrounds. In the U.S, some patients receive equal treatment in the health care facilities, but others receive unequal treatment because they are from diverse backgrounds. In the article, “Cultural Clues” Melissa Hansen focuses on the importance of culturally competent workforce- (nurses, technicians, and doctors) who can recognize cultural differences to allow effective communication with patients. The culturally competent health care workers also include the community health workers- (community health promoters, village health workers, and lay health advisers). In fact, the lack of understanding between the healthcare workers and patients is resulting in an estimated one-third of patients who do not adhere to prescribed medication regimens. This condition leads not only to serious complication and more hospitalizations, but also is costing the U.S. health system an estimated $100 billion to $290 billion every year (Hansen 22). Necessarily, the health care workforce needs to improve this state to reduce disparities.

The increasing population pool has certainly proven the importance of cultural, religious, social, and ethical diversity. In today’s ever-growing population, it is essential that we understand, respect, and meet the needs of people from different multicultural backgrounds. Healthcare of today constantly experience many degrees of health disparities and this is a challenging problem that will persist unless immediate action is taken to reduce and possibly eliminate the problem. One of the major important steps to be considered is diversifying the population pool of medical students. This increase in medical student diversity will greatly reduce health disparities by creating more diverse doctors to meet the needs of patients

For health care workers, cultural competency is important for obvious reasons. On a daily basis, healthcare professionals work with patients of a variety of cultures, and many work with team members who come from different cultures than their own. Medical and other healthcare professionals spend many years in school learning how and when to treat patients for giving symptoms, but teaching them to interact with patients currently falls on knowing the things that make up a person’s cultural identity. Cultural differences that exist between people, such as language, dress and traditions, and the way societies organize themselves, their conception of morality and religion, attitudes about illness and death and the way they interact with the environment. Cultural competence is important in health care because the patient outcome, patient readmissions, staff retention, and labor relations all determine the outcome of an organizations success. Diversity improves the effectiveness and productivity of the workforce. Disadvantages of ignoring cultural diversity can result in a loss of revenue for the business. Company growth will also be affected by ignoring cultural diversity. Steps an organization should take to face this challenge is to implement training that cover workforce diversities and keep an open dialogue among employees expressing concerns, differences, ideas, etc.