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This paper examines the importance and increasing need for health care practitioners to develop cultural competence in an effort to engage patients in their care to minimize the health disparities that are found in predominately ethnic minority populations. Although Meaningful Use requires data collection related to race and ethnicity, there is no evidence to support that the data is being used to engage patients in a culturally competent way. Lessons learned from the field of education regarding strategies used to develop cultural competence in the teaching profession can be applied in the health care field. This paper argues that cultural competence and patient engagement are clearly linked.

Given the importance of multicultural education, its impact on students and the ensuing impact on society, it would appear that studies assessing the efficacy of how social justice issues are taught appear to be essential. However, most studies assessing the efficacy of multicultural teacher education coursework appears to be inconclusive. This paper poses the following questions: to what extent is it possible for students who are teachers and administrators in American schools to engage in a multicultural graduate course taught using a social reconstructionist approach to see outside the boundaries of their own perspectives; and to what extent might a multicultural education course have a lasting impact on their personal and professional lives. Additionally, the study asks whether the effects of a multicultural course may be long lasting and significant.

It is important to examine empirical evidence of cultural competence among health care providers and to understand how it is assessed from an organizational context. There is a dearth of information about these concepts. Given its relevance to caring for diverse patient populations, the purpose of this paper is to present findings from a mixed method study which conducted a general cultural assessment survey of Nurse Managed Health Centers (NMHCs) that were affiliates of the National Nursing Centers Consortium. Findings enabled the authors to formulate recommendations that could strengthen the cultural competence of staff Organizational leadership and advanced practice nurses would benefit from more intentional efforts to increase proficiency of NMHC staff members in their cultural knowledge and sensitivity skills when delivering care to the populations they serve.

This paper presents the experiences of five women's (of three nationalities and different ethnic backgrounds) challenging dominant cultural discourses and finding their own voice. Starting from a class assignment and individual papers, the five women engaged in a participatory writing project that helped them critically examine dominant discourses of their home countries, the US and other countries, and reflect on how they have been constrained by these dominant discourses and how they have resisted them.

In the early 1980's the United States gave the Hmong preferred refugee status and a large number immigrated to the U.S. The Hmong refugees brought with them their language, social structure and customs, religious beliefs and rituals as well as their health care beliefs and practices. They were uprooted from their community and social supports and now live where the culture, language and socioeconomics are vastly different. Despite having learned a great deal about the Hmong culture over the last three decades, providing culturally competent health care for this unique group continues to be a challenge. The purpose of this paper is to enumerate the barriers to providing health care to Hmong Americans and share strategies to respect Hmong culture when providing quality health care. Emphasis is placed on building relationships based on trust and mutual respect. Cultural exchange is encouraged as well as the need for basic cultural awareness.

Objectives: In an effort to address the significant socio-cultural changes in the population demographics of the United States (US) and Canada, organizations are increasingly seeking ways of improving their level of cultural competence. Evaluating organizational cultural competence is essential to address the needs of ethnic and cultural minorities. Yet, research related to organizational cultural competence is relatively new. The purpose of this paper is to review the extant literature with a specific focus on: (1) identifying the key standards that define culturally competent community health and social service organizations; and (2) outlining the core elements for evaluating cultural competence in a health and social service organization. Furthermore, issues related to choosing self-assessment tools and conducting an evaluation will be explored.

There is increasing recognition in Australia that racial and ethnic minority groups experience significant disparities in health and health care compared with the average population and that the Australian health care system needs to be more responsive to the health and care needs of these groups. The paper presents the findings of a year long study that explored what providers and recipients of health care know and understand about the nature and implications of providing culturally safe and competent health care to minority racial and ethnic groups in Victoria, Australia. Analysis of the data obtained from interviewing 145 participants recruited from over 17 different organizational sites revealed a paucity of knowledge and understanding of this issue and the need for a new approach to redress the status quo.

This paper describes the collaborative endeavors between researchers and the Hmong community to develop and test a quality of hypertension care survey instrument. In-depth interviews with community leaders and hypertensive patients enhanced the understanding of quality of care from Hmong socio-cultural perspectives. Knowledge gained from the Hmong community was integrated into the research process. The collaborative process led to generating a culturally sensitive survey instrument, overcoming cultural barriers for recruitment of survey participants, and facilitating community involvement in all aspects of research implementation. Applying community-sensitive research methods ensured the success of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]