Cultural Competence Education for Health Professionals

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Abstract

This  review  assessed the effects of cultural competence  education  for health professionals. Five studies were included involving 337 health professionals (including general practitioners, primary care teams, and counsellors) and 8400 patients. Three studies were conducted in the USA, one in Canada and one in The Netherlands. At least 3000 patients were from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds and some of the health professional groups were also from CALD backgrounds. The studies differed in how the  education  was provided and which  outcome  measures were used. The  review  findings showed some support for cultural competence  education  for health professionals. These findings are tentative, however, as the quality of the evidence was low and more  data  are needed.

Citation

Relevant Evidence Summaries

The evidence was reviewed and included in the following summaries: 

What is the impact of cultural competence training among health and mental health providers?

Evidence about the impact of cultural competence training on client health and mental health outcomes is generally inconclusive. Five systematic reviews, including one review of reviews, all published within the past ten years, concur that existing studies lack adequate methodological rigor to draw conclusions about the impact of cultural competence training and programming. Additionally, existing […]

About this study

AGE: Adults

DIRECTION OF EVIDENCE: Inconclusive or mixed impact

FULL TEXT AVAILABILITY: Free

GENDER: All

HOST COUNTRY: Multiple countries

HOST COUNTRY INCOME: High Income

INTERVENTION DURATION: Varies by study

INTERVENTION: Cultural competence training

OUTCOME AREA: Cultural Competence

REGION OF ORIGIN OF PARTICIPANT(S): Multiple Regions

STRENGTH OF EVIDENCE: Strong

TYPE OF STUDY: Systematic review

YEAR PUBLISHED: 2014

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