Cultural Competence In Healthcare

Introduction

The growing cultural changes in the United States provide opportunities and challenges in healthcare for providers, systems, and policy makers. There is a growing consensus amongst healthcare workers that it is necessary to produce and provide culturally competent services. Cultural competence is defined as “the ability of providers and organizations to effectively deliver health care services that meet the social, cultural, and linguistic needs of patients” (Seeleman et al, 2015). A major topic of discussion amongst health professionals at industry conferences is the improvement of health outcomes and quality of care- specifically the contribution of culturally competent cares towards the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities. More and more Plans to move the health care system towards the goal of cultural competence is being realized due to the health implications of being stagnant (Seeleman et al, 2015).

Greater morbidity and death from prolonged diseases are found amongst cultural and ethnic groups. The magnitudes can be higher monetary problems to greater activity restrictions.

Individuals report high dissatisfaction when barriers to communication lead to misunderstanding and lack of adherence. Spanish-speaking ethnic minorities provide higher complaints with health care facilities and healthcare workers than English- speaking Caucasians. They also report lower satisfaction with the quality of care (Lor et al, 2015). Not all interpretation services produce the same level of satisfaction. Studies have shown that there is a higher level of patient satisfaction among individuals who receive a professional medical interpreter than a non-professional interpreter. In addition, there is a higher level of satisfaction when a patient visits a bilingual health care provider who can communicate with them in their native language (Lor et al,