Cultural Competency

Cultural Competency

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for improving access to health care by strengthening the health care workforce, building healthy communities and achieving health equity.  HRSA’s programs provide health care to people who are geographically isolated, economically or medically vulnerable.

 

The National Center for Cultural Competence (NCCC)- works to increase the capacity of health care and mental health care programs to design, implement, and evaluate culturally and linguistically competent service delivery systems to address growing diversity, persistent disparities, and to promote health and mental health equity.

 

ThinkCulturalHealth (TCH) is dedicated to advancing health equity at every point of contact. With growing concerns about health inequities and the need for health care systems to reach increasingly diverse patient populations, cultural competence has become more and more a matter of national concern.

 

Culturally & Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Tools

 

National Standards: The National CLAS Standards are intended to advance health equity, improve quality, and help eliminate health care disparities by establishing a blueprint for health and health care organizations.

 

Tracking CLAS: This tool interactively documents the progress of Florida and other states in implementing CLAS standards.

 

The Compendium of State-Sponsored CLAS Standards Implementation Activites: This compendium further documents the progress of states in implementing CLAS standards.

 

Visual aids

 

Culture Tool – created by the Catholic Health System in Buffalo to increase knowledge about different cultural groups and languages, belief practices, nutritional preferences, communication awareness, as well as patient care/handling of death.

 

Glossary of Symptoms – Created by the Division of Communicable Disease Control providing a definition of common symptoms along with translation into 14 languages.

 

I Speak Cards – written by the United States Census Bureau in 38 different languages to help identify the language spoken by the client/patient.

 

Following is a list of resources, which provide Cultural Competency self-assessment tools.

 

BAHRII Local Health Department Organizational Self-Assessment for Addressing Health Inequities Toolkit

Cultural Competence Checklist − Personal Reflection

Cultural Competence Checklist – Policies & Procedures

Cultural Competence Checklist – Service Delivery

Cultural Competence Self-Test (unable to determine original source)

Cultural Competence Self-Assessment Questionnaire

Indicators of Cultural Competence in Health Care Delivery Organizations

National Center for Cultural Competence Self-Assessments and Checklists