Addressing Healthcare Disparities with Culturally Competent Care
Tips and Strategies for Becoming a Culturally Competent Healthcare Provider
As the world becomes increasingly diverse, it has become increasingly relevant that people want to be seen and heard, especially in healthcare settings. Therefore, healthcare providers need to understand the importance of cultural competency to deliver high-quality care to their patients.
By cultural competency, I'm referring to the ability of healthcare providers to understand and respond appropriately to their patient's cultural and linguistic needs. By this, I mean that healthcare providers must become increasingly aware of the cultural differences in healthcare beliefs, practices, and communication styles. In doing so, they're better able to provide care in a way that is a respectful and appropriate way for each patient.
Why is Cultural Competency Important?
Even though there is an assumption that cultural competency is only relevant to specific groups, that is not the case. Instead, everyone can benefit from improving this skill, and here are two reasons why.
1. Improve Patient Outcomes
By developing culturally competent, healthcare providers can better provide tailored care that addresses each patient's needs. Doing so can help to improve patient satisfaction, increase trust in the healthcare system, and ultimately lead to better health outcomes.
2. Reduce Health Disparities
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) often face significant barriers to accessing high-quality healthcare, which can lead to worse health outcomes than the general population. Because of this, cultural competence is needed to help healthcare providers understand and address these barriers, which can lead to reduced disparities in health outcomes.
What Does Cultural Competency Look Like in Practice?
While cultural competency means different things to different people, it involves understanding and responding appropriately to patients' cultural and linguistic needs. Thus, here are what being culturally competent looks like in practice for healthcare providers.
Take the time to learn about your patient population's cultural beliefs and practices. For example, ask your patients to share their ideas about health and healthcare.
If your client speaks different languages, hiring interpreters or healthcare providers who are fluent in the language of your patients can support you with more effective communication.
For patients who strongly emphasize involving the family in healthcare decisions, providing care respectfully and appropriately may look like inviting them to bring a family member to their appointments.
Additionally, some cultures may prioritize natural remedies over traditional Western medicine. Thus, healthcare providers can intentionally incorporate natural remedies into a patient's care plan when appropriate.
What Can Healthcare Providers Do to Become More Culturally Competent?
Now that you understand why cultural competence is essential and what it looks like in practice, you're likely wondering how to become more culturally competent. If so, here are several things that healthcare providers can do to get started.
Tip 1: Education
Educating yourself about different patient populations' cultural beliefs and practices is crucial to building cultural competence. For instance, understanding the healthcare beliefs and practices of BIPOC populations helps you provide more patient-centered care.
Tip 2: Communication
Learning how to communicate effectively with patients who speak different languages or communicate differently is equally essential. By using interpreters or other communication aids, you can ensure your patients feel fully understood.
Tip 3: Intention
Being intentional about providing respectful and appropriate care for each patient is a powerful way to develop your cultural competence. When developing treatment plans, you can do so by considering your patient's cultural background and preferences.
Tip 4: Access
However, it's essential to recognize that cultural barriers may prevent patients from accessing high-quality healthcare. For this reason, providing information in multiple languages or offering culturally appropriate healthcare services can address these barriers.
Tip 5: Training
In addition to these steps, healthcare providers can also seek training and resources to help them become more culturally competent. Many organizations and resources available can provide guidance and support in this area, including the National Center for Cultural Competence and the Office of Minority Health.
Cultural competency is essential to providing high-quality healthcare to patients, particularly those from BIPOC populations. By understanding and responding appropriately to patients' cultural and linguistic needs, healthcare providers can improve patient outcomes, reduce health disparities, and provide better patient care. If you're a healthcare provider, consider improving your cultural competency and ability to provide high-quality care to all patients, regardless of their cultural background or language needs.