9.18: Cultural Competency

There are many definitions of cultural competency in current usage.

One definition used by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Primary Health Care is fairly brief (compared to some) and to the point:

Cultural and linguistic competence is a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes and policies that come together in a system, agency or among professionals that enables effective work in cross-cultural situations. "Culture" refers to integrated patterns of human behavior that include the language, thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values, and institutions of racial, ethnic, religious or social groups. "Competence" implies having the capacity to function effectively as an individual and an organization within the context of the cultural beliefs, behaviors and needs presented by consumers and their communities.

The American Association for Health Education defines cultural competency with a slightly different emphasis:;

Cultural competence is the ability of an individual to understand and respect values, attitudes, beliefs, and mores that differ across cultures, and to consider and respond appropriately to these differences in planning, implementing, and evaluating health education and promotion programs and interventions.

These and other definitions arose in the last 30-40 years as healthcare systems and providers realized they needed to respond to the increasingly diverse populations they served, and that the process of becoming more culturally competent would take time and effort. That is, it is aprocess.

• Some researchers/practitioners focused on stages that an organization would need to pass through on the way to becoming culturally competent (e.g., Terry Cross, an influential researcher into cultural competency).
• Others focus more on a continuum of approaches, each of which may have its role in healthcare, depending on the circumstances and needs.

Both ways of looking at cultural competence challenge healthcare providers and systems to change themselves – not just focus on changing patient behavior – so that better health outcomes are possible.

Optional: See more definitions of cultural and linguistic competency at this link from the National Center for Cultural Competency

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