SPOTLIGHT ON:
The Impact of Cross-Cultural Competency
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Understanding cultural and social contexts goes a long way towards increasing equity for all
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"...a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals that enables effective work in cross-cultural situations."
But what does this mean in the real world? And what is its impact on overcoming disparities in health and social services?
One word: Understanding.
Understanding the histories and prevalent patterns of human behavior in a community, system or environment. Understanding people's cultural beliefs, values and customs. And understanding how those factors come into play when working to affect social change. Cross-cultural competency is a way to create the space and structures to promote equity.
When stated that simply, it's easy to see the importance of cultural competency to elected officials, public servants, medical and social service professionals, or anyone stepping into a new environment with the intent of making an impact. Meaningful, lasting transformation is much more possible when we look beyond simply what needs to change and better understand why, how, and what effect it will have on those at the center of such change.
"Cultural competency is one of the main ingredients in closing the disparities gap in health care. It's the way patients and doctors can come together and talk about health concerns without cultural differences hindering the conversation, but enhancing it. Quite simply, health care services that are respectful of and responsive to the health beliefs, practices and cultural and linguistic needs of diverse patients can help bring about positive health outcomes."
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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PUTTING THEORY INTO PRACTICE
Community Science Works With Clients To Build Cross-Cultural Competencies
Community Science works with all our clients to translate the understanding of context, described above, into a comprehensive strategy to strengthen individuals', organizations', and systems' capacity to effectively serve diverse children, youth, adults, and families. The following efforts are just a few examples of the impact of cross-cultural competency on reducing health disparities, achieving health equity, promoting social justice, and improved systems of care.
As stated in the evaluation of The Colorado Trust's Equality in Health Initiative, "...in the coming decades racial and ethnic minorities will constitute more than 50% of many states' populations." However, even when minorities have the same insurance status, access, age income and chronic conditions, they still tend to receive lower-quality health care than the white population. Cultural competency can help promote and ensure equality in treatment and medical services, attainment of equal access to health care, improvements of environmental conditions, and increased healthy behaviors.
Ultimately, the evaluation of the initiative showed that as grantee organizations' cultural competency improved, so did their adaptations to their interventions to serve diverse populations as well as short-term health and health care outcomes.
Another example of how we can build cross-cultural competencies in our work can be seen in the research, training and capacity building services we have provided to youth-serving organizations through the Montgomery County, MD Collaboration Council for Children, Youth and Families. Our Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) and Out of School Time Cultural and Linguistic Competency Trainings worked to strengthen cultural competency of youth-serving agencies and providers. The goal of training was to increase understanding of systemic barriers, structures, and inequities related to the disproportionate involvement of youth of color and low income in the juvenile justice system and increase strategies to effectively serve diverse youth. As a result, youth are treated equitably, which ultimately can help reduce disparities in the juvenile justice system.
"We know cultural competency is an important topic. (Community Science) adapted the training to meet their (providers and administrators from youth-serving organizations) needs. Many providers don't reflect the population they work with, so they are not as familiar with situations facing people of different backgrounds."
-Lynn Sobolov, Program Manager, Excel Beyond the Bell.
"Micro-insults and insensitivity to people's uniqueness, backgrounds, and perspectives should not be minimized or ignored; they should be addressed to show that it is not acceptable. People (training participants) could examine where they were on the cultural competency continuum-a self-assessment of their own organization. [The Community Science trainings offered] continued awareness that this (cultural competency and ongoing development) is an issue."
-Elijah Wheeler, DMC Reduction Coordinator for Montgomery County
Another approach, used by the
Nassau County System of Care, is to embed culturally competent and responsive policies and practices into services and supports for youth and families with complex needs. This increases access to quality services, use of appropriate services, and helps to decrease disparities in health and health care.
Looking to The Colorado Trust, DMC, and Nassau County as examples, embedding cross-cultural competency into organizational policies, procedures, practices, and perspectives can contribute to shifting service disparities.
A little understanding, in fact, does go a long way.
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In Print:
Community Science on Cultural Competency
Understanding is the key to change. Numerous Community Science staff members and partners have published articles, reports and studies on how to better understand communities and ultimately improve equity in services.
Health Literacy in Adult Education: A Natural Partnership for Health Equity
Chervin, C., Clift, J. B., Woods, L. N., Krause, E., & Lee, K. S. (2012)
Health Promotion Practice, 13, 738-746
The Role of Prevention in Promoting Continuity in Health Care in Prisoner Reentry Initiatives
Woods, L. N., Lanza, S., Dyson, W. and Gordon, D.M. (2013)
American Journal of Public Health, 103
Increasing outreach, connection, and services to low-income, non-custodial fathers: How did we get here and what do we know?
Gordon, D. M., Hunter, B., Woods, L. N., Tinney, B., Bostic, B., Malone, S., Kimbro, G., Greenlee, D., Fabish, S., and Smith, A. (2012)
Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice about Men as Fathers, 10, 101-111
For more staff publications and related reading lists, click here.
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CLIENT SPOTLIGHT:
The Colorado Trust
As one of our earliest partners in immigrant integration, The Colorado Trust works with individuals, organizations, agencies, and communities across the state of Colorado in shared efforts to expand health coverage and to improve the health care system.
Cultural competency was a centerpiece of the Trust's Equity in Health Initiative, with proven successes in short-term health and health care outcomes of service recipients.
We continue to work closely with The Colorado Trust to develop a theory of change for evaluating cultural competency in health settings to monitor the effectiveness of interventions.
This work advances the field, as comprehensive frameworks to measure individual to systemic cross-cultural competency and the relationship to disparities and equity are limited.
Click here for more information about out work with The Colorado Trust. |
of note:
April 21-23, 2013
Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA), Chicago, Ill.
Hosted by the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, this conference will bring together an interdisciplinary group of US and international scholars to focus on the role of culture in theory and practices of evaluation and assessment.
The CREA conference is unique in its definitive recognition of culture's centrality to evaluation
and assessment and will illuminate the landscape of culturally responsive evaluation and assessment.
May 28-31, 2013
Hyatt Regency
San Francisco,
San Francisco, CA
"The Science of Prevention: Building a Comprehensive National Strategy for Well-Being"
Join colleagues for the most important prevention science conference of the year!
The Society for Prevention Research envisions a wellness-oriented society
in which evidenced-based programs and policies are continuously applied to improve the health and well being of its citizens, fostering positive human development and citizens who lead productive lives, in caring relationships with others.
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Join Us!
If you are a motivated, conscientious professional
who can help us take the practice of social change through science and capacity building to a higher level, Community Science wants
to hear from you.
In fact, Community Science is currently recruiting for the following positions:
Senior Associate in Community Change Research & Practice
(Washington, DC)
Associate in Research & Capacity Building (Washington, DC)
To learn more about each position, or apply now, visit
the Community Science CAREERS page.
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About Community Science
Community Science is an award winning research and development organization that works with governments, foundations, and non-profit organizations on solutions to social problems through community and other systems changes.
To learn more, visit our PROJECTS page.
To discuss how Community Science can collaborate with your organization, contact us at 301-519-0722 or info@communityscience.com |
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