Disparities in health care in the US are partly attributable to the cultural mis-match between the professionals who provide care and the patients they serve. A challenge facing health care institutions in this century will be assisting an essentially homogeneous group of health care professionals to meet the special needs of a culturally diverse society. A driving force is the mandate of Healthy People 2010 to increase the span of healthy life for all Americans and eliminate disparities in health between population groups. The concepts of cultural sensitivity and cultural competency have become increasingly common terms in the US as demographic shifts translate into an ethnically diverse society. Recently published national standards for cultural and linguistically appropriate services address the need to assure that health services are responsive to individual needs of all patients. However, prepared in professional schools, many health care workers have had little exposure to culture, how to study culture, and how to move from ethnocentrism to cultural relativity. This presentation describes cultural attitudes, knowledge, and skill of 409 health care workers using the Ethnic Attitude Scale, the Cultural Self-Efficacy Scale, and a demographic inventory. Findings suggest cultural knowledge and educational preparation of the health worker may influence cultural skills. Workers that were most confident in their cultural skills in working with other cultural groups were more confident in knowledge of cultural concepts and had higher education levels. The results also suggest gaps in workers’ knowledge of other cultures and how to care for them in culturally sensitive ways. Educational interventions may enhance workers’ knowledge. Further studies are needed to correlate knowledge gained from educational interventions and patient outcomes.
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