Methods: The project implemented over an eight-week period. A three-hour cultural competency training was provided to mental health and addiction treatment hospital staff. The staff are Registered Nurses, Social Workers, Therapists, Receptionists and Psychiatric Technicians. The Inventory for Assessing The Process of Cultural Competence Among Healthcare Professionals-Revised (IAPCC-R) completed by the participants before the cultural competency training and immediately after the training, while the Cultural Competency Assessment Scale (CCAS) Level 2.1 was completed by the participants immediately after the cultural competency training and four weeks after the training.
The survey data analyzed to (1) identify if after attending the cultural competency participants had heightened awareness of ways in which the Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Facility staff could become more culturally competent and (2) identify areas in which the Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Facility program could become more culturally relevant. The participants during the cultural competency training and on completing the CCAS four weeks after attending the cultural competency training included suggestions that the program at the facility could become more culturally competent to enable caregivers to work effectively and efficiently in cross/multi-cultural situations to provide high-quality services and to reduce disparities in the care.
Results: Based on the descriptive statistics, there were evidences of increase in the level of cultural competency with the three-hour cultural competency training. The comments from the participants after the cultural competency training also indicated improvement in their cultural competency. 55.5 % participants reported after the training that they were more aware of their biases, would continue to work on them, and recommended that all the staff at the facility attend the cultural competency training.
Conclusion:
- Comparison of the IAPCC-R pre and post-training survey.
Pre-training 30% of the participants in the range of cultural competence and 60 %in the range of cultural awareness. Post-training there were 50% participants in the range of cultural competence and 40% in the range of cultural awareness. 20% of the participants moved up in the scoring.
- Comparison of the CCAS immediately after the training and the ones completed four weeks after the training.
The scores from the CCAS tool four weeks post-training increased compared to the scores from CCAS tool completed immediately after the training.