What's New | March 17, 2010

Delivering Culturally Competent Care

Health care services that respect and respond to diverse patients' health beliefs, practices, and cultural and linguistic needs can produce positive health outcomes and reduce health disparities.

The Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health has established national standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate services. Health care organizations receiving federal funding are required to meet the linguistic standards, and national, federal, and state accrediting agencies are encouraged to mandate the cultural competence standards.

The featured Innovations show how three programs implemented cultural and/or linguistic services to meet the needs of diverse patient populations.

The featured QualityTools provide several practical resources to develop health care services for diverse patient groups.

Featured Innovations:

• Monthly Clinic Enhances Access to Culturally Competent Cancer Screening and Primary Care for Rural, Low-Income Hispanic Women Over Age 40

• Use of Spiritual Healers Reduces Cultural Misunderstandings and Conflicts and Increases Satisfaction Among Hospitalized Hmong Patients
with Expert Commentary

Featured QualityTools:

• Latino Nutrition Coalition Resources
Developed by Latino Nutrition Coalition

• Multicultural Health Care: A Quality Improvement Guide
Developed by Lilly USA, LLC; National Committee for Quality Assurance

• One Size Does Not Fit All: Meeting the Health Care Needs of Diverse Populations
Developed by The Joint Commission

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Also in This Issue:

Innovations >

• Culturally Competent Palliative Care Supports African-American Patients and Families in Dealing With End-of-Life Issues

• Culturally Competent Teams Provide Comprehensive Diabetes Care Management and Education, Improving Outcomes for Underserved Patients

• Engaging Patients as Observers Represents Low-Cost, Accurate Way to Monitor and Improve Hand Hygiene in Outpatient Settings

• New Communication Protocols, Inclusive Policies, and Ongoing Training Lead to Culturally Competent Care for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Patients

• System-Wide Quality Improvement Infrastructure Facilitates Adoption of Best Practices and Leads to Better Outcomes

QualityTools >

• Chronic Disease Cost Calculator
Developed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; RTI International

• Health Information in Multiple Languages
Developed by National Library of Medicine

• Help for Smokers and Other Tobacco Users: Quit Smoking
Developed by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; U.S. Public Health Service

• Tools to Address Disparities in Health: Data as Building Blocks for Change
Developed by America's Health Insurance Plans