Prepare and support a diverse MCH workforce that is culturally competent and family centered.
Strategies:
Recruit, train, and advance faculty from diverse backgrounds
Recruit, train, and retain a workforce that is more reflective
of the diversity of the nation.
Design and implement educational programs to ensure that
the MCH workforce is both culturally competent and family
centered.
Engage families, youth, and communities in the development
and ongoing implementation of training programs for the
MCH workforce.
Rationale:
MCHB strives to develop an MCH workforce that is more reflective of the diversity of the nation. This strategy requires that we focus on increasing the diversity of MCH faculty and students. By addressing faculty and trainee diversity, and incorporating cultural competence and family centered care into training programs, the MCH Training Program aims to improve the quality of care for the MCH population. Over time, the Program must evaluate whether the emphases on diversity, cultural competence and family centered care might also help to reduce health disparities. (more)
Definitions:
Diversity: One goal of the MCH Training Program is to increase the percent of trainees who are from underrepresented groups. “Underrepresented groups” refer to, but are not limited to, groups based on race, ethnicity, geographic location, gender, disability status, etc. who are underrepresented in a field of study.
Cultural Competence: “Culture” refers to language, thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values and institutions of racial, ethnic, religious, social group or self-identified community. “Competence” implies having the capacity to function effectively as an individual and/or organization within the context of the cultural beliefs, behaviors, and needs presented by consumers and their communities. Cultural competence is the knowledge, interpersonal skills and behaviors that enable a system, organization, program, or individual to work effectively cross culturally by understanding, appreciating, honoring, and respecting cultural differences and similarities within and between cultures.
Cultural competence is a dynamic, ongoing, developmental process that requires a long-term commitment and is achieved over time.
MCH training projects address issues of cultural competency by including cultural competence training in the curriculum, administrative procedures, faculty and staff development, and recruiting and retaining racially and ethnically diverse faculty and students.(more)
Engaging Families, Youth and Communities: Family-centered care assures the health and well-being of children and their families though a respectful family-professional partnership. It honors the strengths, cultures, traditions, and expertise that everyone brings to this relationship. Family centered care is the standard of practice that results in high quality services.
MCH Training Programs have expanded this definition to include family members, youth and community members as critical partners. Within MCH Training Programs, family, youth and community members are faculty members, advisors, and students. Within the LEND training programs, families are required to be faculty members and/or consultants to all programs.
Related Links and Resources
Diverse Workforce
MCH Training Program Diversity Plan Guideline PDF | DOC
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report “Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care,” issued in 2002, is one of several recent studies to document that in order to improve the quality of care provided to vulnerable populations, the workforce must be more reflective of the population served. "Unequal Treatment" Report
The Cultural Competence and Linguistic Competence Policy Assessment (CLCPA) was developed by the National Center for Cultural Competence (NCCC) at the request of the Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Service (DHHS) to assist community health centers to advance and sustain cultural and linguistic competence.
The CLCPA is intended to support health care organizations to:
improve health care access and utilization
enhance the quality of services within culturally diverse and underserved communities
promote cultural and linguistic competence as essential approaches in the elimination of health disparities.
The NCCC has also developed a companion Guide for Using the Cultural and Linguistic Competence Policy Assessment Instrument that provides step-by-step instructions on how to conduct an organizational self-assessment process.
National Center for Cultural Competence—This site includes Definitions, Policy Briefs and Curriculum Enhancement Modules, http://www11.georgetown.edu/research/gucchd/nccc/ (not a government web site)
HRSA's Cultural Competence Web Page
This site highlights approximately 40 HRSA-supported projects on the critical subject of cross-cultural health care.
Cross Cultural Health Care Studies—This interactive self-study program consists of a series of five tutorials in cultural competence, aimed at familiarizing health care providers with common issues that arise while working with people of diverse cultures. The case studies were developed collaboratively by the seven Pediatric Pulmonary Centers.
