Cultural Competence

The United States is home to a multitude of cultures and ethnicities. Demographic shifts and legislative efforts encouraging the representation of varied countries, such as the diversity lottery visa program, have enhanced the multicultural texture of U.S. society.

Cultural competence plays an integral role in all spheres of health care provision, from program planning, to health communication, to effective diagnosis and treatment. Cultural competence has been defined 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'. (Cross, T., Bazron, B., Dennis, K., & Isaacs, 1989) As health care providers and public health practitioners face an increasingly diverse population, they need to prepare for, and respond to, these cultural needs.

The role of cultural and linguistic competence in the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities has recently received much-needed attention from U.S. leaders, including former President Clinton and the former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, and from several national and international health organizations.

Over the last decade, the Center for Immigrant Health has led various projects to enhance the provision of culturally competent services. These have included (1) research into current and best practices on culturally competent health care delivery, (2) knowledge-garnering efforts on cultural beliefs and practices and their impact on health-seeking behavior and decision-making, (3) development of a comprehensive cultural competence curriculum, (4) cultural competence trainings for health care and other institutions, and (5) review, and analysis, of evaluation tools used to assess cultural competence.