By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    benefits of using protein powder to build muscles
    Protein Powder for Muscle Mass: Everything You Need to Know
    December 12, 2021
    changes brought on by blockchain in healthcare
    Technology In The Healthcare Industry
    March 28, 2022
    What Does Core Body Temperature Say About Health?
    August 17, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    FDA Approves Diabetes Pill
    May 2, 2011
    Patient Gets Drunk on Hand Sanitizer
    June 20, 2011
    Cultivating Health Improvement
    July 20, 2011
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Enhancing Cultural Competency In Healthcare Settings
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Hospital Administration > Enhancing Cultural Competency In Healthcare Settings
Hospital Administration

Enhancing Cultural Competency In Healthcare Settings

Larry Alton
Last updated: April 14, 2019 11:46 am
Larry Alton
Share
6 Min Read
Enhancing Cultural Competency In Healthcare Settings
SHARE

 

Contents
Cultural Competency 101The Role of Holistic HealthcareDeveloping Dietary GuidelinesCulturally Sensitive PsychologyThe Humble Servant Model

When patients arrive at your facility, do you treat them all the same? While the self-evident answer is, “yes” the reality is not that simple. To provide all patients with the same quality of care, you need to understand what makes each individual different. This is especially important for patients from minority communities, non-English speakers, and immigrants. Without adapting your approach to treatment, your patients’ experience is likely to fall short.

Cultural Competency 101

At its foundation, treating patients differently as a sensitive response to their particular identity position is a practice known as cultural competency and it’s an important part of medical care – from psychological counseling to nutritional advice. And on the medical side, many diagnoses cluster in specific social and cultural groups, so understanding patients’ background can help you arrive at the correct diagnosis.

Cultural competency is important across a range of interactions, inside and outside of the hospital, but in healthcare settings, culturally competent care involves everything from providing interpreter services to expanding your hours of operation and creating culturally-targeted health promotion tools. Too many healthcare practices consider these added services to be optional components of their work – in fact, cultural competency is the heart of all care.

More Read

Judgment, Fact and Anxiety
8 Of The Most Bizarre Medical Malpractice Cases Out There
The Benefits of Having an E-newsletter for Your Hospital
Reduce Hospital Readmission Rates or Else!
Greedy Insurance Company Backs Down: The Little Guy Wins!

The Role of Holistic Healthcare

One of the hallmarks of a cultural competent medical practice is the willingness of doctors to engage in holistic care, rather than a narrow understanding of Western medicine. This includes a willingness to include chiropractic and acupuncture in care plans, to provide safety guidelines to patients using herbal remedies, and to be open to practices like Ayurveda.

Holistic care is important for all patients; it addresses the psychological and social components of health as well as the physical ones, but doctors are typically more open to holistic care they understand. Administrators, then, should work with local experts to introduce doctors to different treatment modalities, so they are better able to address their use when meeting with individual patients.

Developing Dietary Guidelines

Another important way that doctors can improve their care of diverse patients is by developing culturally specific nutrition guidelines. With obesity and type-2 diabetes being such serious problems, especially among immigrant and low-income populations, offering diet plans that reflect familiar foods rather than an Americanized set of offerings can help patients experience greater success.

The first step to developing these guidelines is understanding international cuisine –

what exactly is in your patients’ cabinets? As this chart reveals, common foods in one country may be unfamiliar in another. For example, while corn is a common grain here in the United States, in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and many other countries, rice is more common. Japanese cuisine relies heavily on soy sauce, but Vietnamese food uses more fish sauce.

These fine distinctions will shape what your patients eat and what recommendations you should make. Asking patients to completely change their diet to reflect a foreign-to-them culture is unreasonable and psychologically damaging. It basically guarantees that your patients will fail to adhere to your recommendations.

Culturally Sensitive Psychology

Of all the different areas of healthcare, psychology and psychiatry may be the most culturally sensitive of them all – as stigmatized as mental illness is in the United States, the situation is much worse in many other countries. Additionally, psychological symptoms are largely shaped by cultures of origin. Overall, minorities are less likely to seek psychiatric treatment because they don’t expect to be understood and because they’ve received negative messaging about mental illness from their communities.

African American patients have played an important role in increasing awareness about cultural competency in mental health care, addressing subtle racism among therapists and the impact of racism on depression and anxiety. This has helped increase the number of therapists who are equipped to address intercultural mental health concerns, but there’s more work to be done.

The Humble Servant Model

Ultimately, culturally competent medical care demands that doctors act with humility when providing patient care. While your doctors may be more knowledgeable about biology or medications, they aren’t omniscient and they certainly can’t understand every patient’s individual circumstances and cultural background. When doctors are taught to reflect patient concerns, accept different perspectives, and engage with the patient on their terms, they’re more likely to reach an agreement about the course of care.

Patient care cannot be a one size fits all model, despite the presumed equality of that approach. This is what the cultural competency perspective reframes – it addresses the fact that white, American patients typically receive treatment that reflects their background and beliefs. From there, it says that all patients deserve that kind of treatment and offers a framework through which doctors can provide it.

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Do You Grind Your Teeth at Night? Here’s How Night Guards and TMJ Treatments Can Help
Do You Grind Your Teeth at Night? Here’s How Night Guards and TMJ Treatments Can Help
Dental health
May 21, 2025
The Secret To A Confident Smile: Top Tips For Better Teeth
The Secret To A Confident Smile: Top Tips For Better Teeth
Dental health
May 21, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025

You Might also Like

Staying Healthy in Philadelphia’s Hospitals

May 3, 2016
medical errors
BusinessFinanceHospital AdministrationPolicy & Law

Medical Errors Earn Hospitals Money: Who Knew?

September 10, 2013
icd-10 billing
BusinesseHealthFinanceHealth ReformHospital AdministrationMedical Records

Why Ignoring ICD-10 Won’t Make It Go Away

May 17, 2013

HIPAA: Liability to Private Parties for Violations

November 18, 2014
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?