Chapter6PPT-Tagged.pdf

Chapter 6Cultural Competency and the Need to Eliminate Health Disparities

Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter you should be able to • Define health disparities. • Provide an historical overview of health disparities. • Discuss the relationship between health disparities and minority groups. • Discuss immigration and cultural competency. • Explain cultural competency as a contributing factor toward resolving health disparities. • Understand role of culturally competent health professionals in closing the gap.

Health Disparity• healthcare inequality or gaps in the quality of health and health care

across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups and population-specific differences in the presence of disease, health outcomes, or access to health care.

Historical Overview of health disparities• This history of unequal access, quality, care, and treatment created an

environment of less than optimal morbidity and mortality among the various minority groups.• This led to poorer health, less access, health inequality, and a

widening health status gap between the minority and majority populations.• These trends have raised alarm about the impact of a skewed

distribution of societal resources on social and physical well-being.• Public health officials have called attention to this problem and

pledged to reduce it

Historical Overview of health disparities (2)Research in health disparities is generally considered to proceed in three generations:(1) the descriptive research describing relevant disparities, (2) research that addresses the underlying causes of these disparities, and (3) investigations designed to address and resolve these disparities

Health Disparities and Minoritized groups• Central concern in the US and globally

• This difference in health status between minority groups and the US population on the whole has increased over time

• This adds to the burden of death and illness among the racial/ethnic minorities of the country.

Health Disparities and Minoritized groups (2)IOM’s study found:• African Americans and Hispanics tend to receive a lower quality of health care across a range of disease areas (including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental health, and other chronic and infectious diseases) and clinical services.

• African Americans are more likely than Whites to receive less desirable services, such as amputation of all or part of a limb.

• Disparities are found even when clinical factors, such as stage of disease presentation, comorbidities, age, and severity of disease, are taken into account.

• Disparities are found across a range of clinical settings, including public and private hospitals, teaching and nonteaching hospitals, and so on.

Immigration and Cultural Competency• Language barriers• Lack of racial/ethnic workforce diversity

CULTURAL COMPETENCY AS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TOWARD HEALTH DISPARITIES• A “culturally competent” healthcare system has been defined as one

that acknowledges and incorporates—at all levels—the importance of culture, assessment of cross-cultural relations, vigilance toward the dynamics that result from cultural differences, expansion of cultural knowledge, and adaptation of services to meet culturally unique needs.

THE ROLE OF CULTURALLY COMPETENT HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN CLOSING THE GAP

• Raise awareness of the healthcare gap among broad sectors, including healthcare providers, their patients, payers, health plan purchasers, and society at large.

• Racial/ethnic diversity in the workforce creates more trust and

compliance with patients who have diverse backgrounds.

• Spanish speaking patients are more comfortable and satisfied with Spanish speaking health care professionals.