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Cultural Competency and Healthcare: Summary
American Hospital Association (AHA) Recommendations LEARNING TIP!
Community outreach serves as a crucial bridge between providers and the populations they serve, helping build trust and enhance understanding of community needs. This outreach is most effective when supported by a diverse workforce that reflects the patient population, creating an environment where different perspectives and cultural experiences are valued. The provision of culturally appropriate services, including language assistance and culturally relevant educational materials, ensures that all aspects of healthcare delivery are accessible and effective for diverse populations. Success in cultural competency requires ongoing commitment, regular evaluation, and willingness to adapt approaches based on community needs and feedback. Within the healthcare environment, organizational cultural competency relies on diversity amongst leadership, staff, vendors, and the served community. Through these guidelines, healthcare providers can create an environment that welcomes diversity, promotes equality, and delivers high-quality care to all patients, regardless of their cultural background. Three Domains of Cultural Competency 1. Affective Domain : ○ Openness ○ Cultural awareness and sensitivity
The AHA recommends the following components for the foundation of a culturally competent healthcare organization for improved, equitable outcomes: • Collect patient demographic data. Addressing cultural identifiers and attributes should be done upon initial patient assessment • Identify, report, and address health disparities • Create culturally competent care frameworks • Develop culturally appropriate health programs • Recruit and train a diverse workforce • Conduct culturally competent community outreach • Make cultural competency a core value
○ Humility ○ Empathy ○ Resilience ○ Willingness ○ Learning 2. Cognitive Domain :
○ Cultural awareness ○ Cultural knowledge ○ Cultural understanding ○ Cultural intuition
3. Behavioral Domain : ○ Cultural skills
○ Appropriate interaction ○ Self-awareness ○ Cultural proficiency
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