Paper
Friday, July 13, 2007
This presentation is part of : Cultural Competence: An Effective Tool to Improve Global Health
Safety, Quality and Excellence: The Imperatives for Cultural Competence
Rita K. Adeniran, RN, MSN, CMAC, CNAA, BC, Department of Nursing Education & Development, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, Joan U. Bretschneider, PhD, RN, Department of Nursing Develoment and Education, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, and Pamela Mack-Brooks, MSN, CRNP, Womens Health, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Evidence based findings suggest that quality healthcare services require attention to patients’ diversity and cultural health beliefs and values.   Cultural and linguistic competence provides one way to address some of challenges of many healthcare delivery systems around the globe. The 2001 Institute of Medicine report in the United States - Crossing the Quality Chasm: a New Health System for the 21st Century asserts that healthcare safety and quality problems exist because of limited infrastructure. One of those limitations is provider’s cultural incompetence.  Two of the six major recommendations of the report speak to the importance of healthcare providers gaining cultural competence skills. Healthcare organizations, as well as professional groups and purchasers of healthcare, are challenged to provide Equity in all facets of the healthy care delivery process. This means healthcare services must not vary in quality because of characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, geographic location, and socioeconomic status (SES).  The other recommendation is Patient-centered care:  This recommendation suggests the provision of care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values, ensures that patient values guide clinical decisions. Cultural competence can improve the safety and quality of services received by culturally diverse patients, regardless of their geographical location. Cultural competence has proven to improve, the patient provider communication, increased trust and patient compliance.