Culturally Appropriate Patient Care
Practicing cultural humility and activities that improve culturally appropriate care such as language access and health literacy.
The Culturally Appropriate Patient Care Lever Includes:
Patient Support and Engagement
How might your hospital support culturally appropriate care for patients?
How might your hospital support culturally appropriate care for patients?
Our Definition:
A culturally aware hospital acknowledges the importance of culture, incorporates the assessment of multicultural relations, recognizes the potential impact of cultural differences, expands cultural knowledge and adapts services to meet patients’ culturally unique needs. Cultural humility is an essential and ongoing means to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities and improve equity of care.
Where on the continuum is your organization?
Exploring the values and resources needed to publicly commit to embarking upon a journey to achieve health equity.
Hospital has a strategic plan in place to provide culturally appropriate care for all patients. Hospital has a broad definition for multiculturalism.
Example
The federal Office of Minority Health offers cultural competence training resources and publishes the National CLAS Standards which, as of 2016, 32 states are actively implementing through strategic planning, training and technical assistance, and dissemination of the National CLAS Standards.
Committing the resources to listen, learn, train and implement policies and practices that establish equity as standard practice.
Hospital implements plan to tailor services for patients throughout the organization to provide culturally appropriate services. Hospital provides patients easy access to health information, and navigation assistance.
Example
See the article: Hospital takes these 10 steps to advance health literacy to support patients.
Immersing the leadership and system into accountability for policies, procedures and cultural structures that support diversity, equity and inclusion.
Hospital offers provider and staff training to ensure everyone is equipped to encourage and support patients’ requests to access health information and services. Hospital incorporates patients’/key stakeholders’ voices on committees to develop organizational priorities for ensuring high-quality care.
Example
Hospital incorporates patients’ and key stakeholders’ voices on committees to develop organizational priorities for ensuring high-quality care.
Affirming an equitable system culture with continuous equity self-assessments of policies and practices that remove structural barriers to equity.
Hospital routinely assesses and explores new ways to expand culturally appropriate services to be increasingly responsive to patient/community needs.
Example
Hospital makes policy to facilitate health equity innovation sessions for all levels of staff and community stakeholders.
Transforming beyond the system toward supporting a sustainable and equitable ecosystem of health care within the community.
Hospital incorporates assessment of culturally appropriate competencies on an ongoing basis into staff performance measurements. Patients are able to easily navigate, understand, and use information, tools and services to obtain quality care and maintain good health practices. Hospital works with patient-centered groups to enhance patient self-advocacy.
Example
Competencies includes bilingual communication, cross-cultural communication, cultural and linguistic knowledge.
DEI Support for Staff
How might your hospital support and create opportunities for staff to increase their DEI knowledge and experience?
How might your hospital support and create opportunities for staff to increase their DEI knowledge and experience?
Our Definition:
Hospital supports DEI training and opportunities for its workforce to connect, learn, share and discuss DEI topics in a safe, inclusive environment.
Where on the continuum is your organization?
Exploring the values and resources needed to publicly commit to embarking upon a journey to achieve health equity.
Hospital celebrates diversity through events or staff communications.
Example
Hospital leaders routinely acknowledge days, weeks or months that are designated to honor the contributions of individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Committing the resources to listen, learn, train and implement policies and practices that establish equity as standard practice.
Hospital conducts internal organizational assessment segmented by race/ethnicity, sexual orientation and other dimensions of diversity to better understand staff experiences in or perceptions of the workplace.
Example
To promote a culture of inclusivity, leaders establish a staff-led DEI Task Force that is representative of the positions across all levels of the hospital. The task force is responsible for developing a multi-year strategic action plan based on findings from internal DEI organizational assessment.
Immersing the leadership and system into accountability for policies, procedures and cultural structures that support diversity, equity and inclusion.
Hospital establishes DEI opportunities for staff to align around shared identities and/or interests.
Example
To become a culturally competent organization, Advocate Lutheran General focused on improving its staff’s cultural awareness and enhancing the organization’s connection to local ethnic communities the hospital served. Read in detail.
Affirming an equitable system culture with continuous equity self-assessments of policies and practices that remove structural barriers to equity.
Hospital engages in open forum with staff on DEI issues on local and national levels that affect communities of color. This signals the organization’s support for its diverse employees and recognizes the various impacts these events have on different people.
Example
Employees are encouraged to meet on a regular basis to discuss concepts such as structural racism, implicit bias, micro aggressions and other manifestations of these “isms” in the workplace. They organize reading groups and other activities to engage in previously awkward conversations to learn from and provide support to each other. Christiana Care launched a series called Courageous Conversations for staff to discuss anti-racism topics with leading Black historians and anti-racist activists.
Transforming beyond the system toward supporting a sustainable and equitable ecosystem of health care within the community.
Hospital has resources to respond to complaints of bias/racism from within the organization. Hospital creates a DEI terminology guide to inform and support the use of inclusive language across the organization. Hospital engages in open forum with staff on a regular basis on issues of race and other forms of oppression.
Example
DEI terminology guide includes terms such as “health equity,” “structural racism,” “privilege” and “micro aggressions.”
Training
How might your hospital provide training to staff needed to create an equitable, diverse and inclusive environment?
How might your hospital provide training to staff needed to create an equitable, diverse and inclusive environment?
Our Definition:
Training is ongoing and topics include a foundation of the root causes of inequities and specific focus areas related to the population served. To provide high-quality, equitable care focusing on patients’ specific needs and the broader societal factors that impact one’s overall health and well-being, hospitals and health systems must strive to increase cultural awareness and practice cultural humility.
Where on the continuum is your organization?
Exploring the values and resources needed to publicly commit to embarking upon a journey to achieve health equity.
Hospital provides staff training on topics ranging from: Health equity definitions and concepts, diversity and inclusion (implicit bias training), cultural competency topics unique to the organization and patients/communities served, or social factors and social needs.
Example
Training topics, coaching or mentoring support:
- Courses providing historical context in relation to equity, diversity and inclusion
- Anti-racism training
- Addressing power, privilege, oppression and self-awareness
- Identity and intersectionality
- Change agency
Committing the resources to listen, learn, train and implement policies and practices that establish equity as standard practice.
Hospital incorporates staff training on DEI topics as an organizational requirement and goal.
Example
Hospital incorporates staff training on DEI topics as an organizational requirement and goal.
Immersing the leadership and system into accountability for policies, procedures and cultural structures that support diversity, equity and inclusion.
Hospital creates learning opportunities for staff to better understand historical cultural factors that have affected medical practice — which have also created disadvantages within certain patient populations.
Example
Hospital leadership organizes a listening and learning series similar to grand rounds.
Affirming an equitable system culture with continuous equity self-assessments of policies and practices that remove structural barriers to equity.
Hospital offers staff opportunities for individual self-critique and reflection around DEI issues during working hours, and offers workshops and space for discussion. Hospital identifies and monitors metrics to measure the impact of trainings.
Example
Hospital provides training and space to practice communication skills regarding equity, diversity and inclusion. Hospital uses Plain Language guidelines and the teach-back method.
Transforming beyond the system toward supporting a sustainable and equitable ecosystem of health care within the community.
Hospital provides continuous training for staff throughout the year. In collaboration with community members and partners, hospital provides opportunities for staff to learn and engage with community partners and community members sharing their experiences.
Example
Hospital collaborates with education department, faith-based institutions, etc. to offer training on different equity topics.
