Question

Explain why cultural competence alone cannot address health disparities. Next, what are the benefits of implementing programs (provide an example of a real program) to address cultural competence within the healthcare organization? Based on your example, what was the outcome?

Answer 1

1. Cultural competence alone can’t address health disparity because there are issues like low socioeconomic status, educational level which contributes to the health disparities & that cant be addressed by cultural competence. Lack of health insurance & communication skills are also other causes.

Health disparities present a serious & complex public policy problem whose solution would require multiple approaches like improvements in economic & social conditions, education level, physical environment & intervention of health services. Though cultural competence can go a long way in addressing the issue of disparities that alone can’t address all the causes.

2. Migrant Health Services of Community Health of South Dade, Inc. in Miami, Florida targeted migrant farm workers in an effort to increase males' access to health care while decreasing barriers to health care for mothers and their children. They recruited and trained outreach workers from their target community and utilized the inherent cultural knowledge of those workers to help them teach their community members about family planning and reproductive health. This program experienced success as demonstrated by a 110 percent increase in males who sought health care services and 54 percent of women who reported feeling more comfortable seeking family planning services.

Each culture has its own set of beliefs about health care in general. Learning to value these beliefs is an important component of successful delivery of culturally competent care. Being aware of, understanding and valuing cultural beliefs of target communities allows providers of care to know how to discuss issues including substance abuse, violence, mental health, and sexuality with patients. Awareness and understanding also prevents providers from reacting in a negative way if a patient chooses to share their beliefs about a particular health issue.