Welcome to the CHAMPS Cultural Competency Resources webpage. CHAMPS developed this online resource to support Region VIII CHCs in providing quality health care that addresses the needs of culturally diverse populations.
Please click or scroll down for:
Definitions of Cultural Competency
Why Focusing on Cultural Competency is Important
What it means to be Culturally Competent in a Healthcare Setting
Frequently Asked Questions about Cultural Competency
Cultural Competency Resources for Health Care Professionals
Health Literacy and Language Services Resources
There are many definitions of cultural competency, but the most widely accepted are the following:
Cultural competency is a set of congruent behaviors, knowledge, attitudes, and policies that enable work in cross cultural situations.
Culture refers to integrated patterns of human behavior that include language, thoughts, actions, customs, beliefs, values, and traditions of racial, ethnic, religious, or social groups.
Competence implies having the capacity to function effectively as an individual or an organization within the context of the cultural beliefs, behaviors, and needs presented by consumers (patients) and their communities.
Cultural competency is an engaging, life-long journey of expanding our horizons. Cultural competence means having a mixture of beliefs/attitudes, knowledge/experience, and skills that help establish trust and rapport.
In healthcare, cultural competency:
Increases quality of services/care
Improves patient outcomes
Improves patient safety
Improves patient satisfaction
Builds trust with patients and communities
Reduces disparities
Please refer to the following resource to review case studies of clinicians addressing cultural competency in medicine, suggested activities for increasing cultural competency in medicine, an assessment to uncover patients' cultural beliefs and/or barriers, and tips for improving the caregiver/patient relationship across cultures:
American Medical Student Association (AMSA)
Cultural Competency in Medicine
To learn more about cultural competency and federal laws concerning Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals, see the following:
Rural Assistance Center
Cultural Competence and Limited English Proficiency Frequently Asked Questions
Community Health Association of Mountain/Plains States (CHAMPS)
CHAMPS is pleased to offer cultural competency training through the Kaiser Permanente, Colorado Diversity Department, to Region VIII CHC staff. The CHAMPS Clinical Programs Director, Shannon Kolman, is certified as a trainer of the Kaiser Diversity and Health Video Series. This five video series was created to raise cultural awareness of health care providers and staff for the purpose of achieving:
enhanced patient interactions and outcomes,
respectful and productive relationships in the workplace, and
solutions to eliminate health disparities.
The videos currently available highlight the following populations:
African-American
Asian and Pacific Islander
Latino/Hispanic
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex
Persons with Disabilities
The training is a face-to-face viewing of the Kaiser video(s) with a facilitated discussion designed to raise cultural awareness and increase the understanding of diverse populations in health care.
Please contact shannon@champsonline.org if your CHC is interested in this valuable training.
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) provides extensive resources for health care professionals on cultural competency, health literacy and limited English proficiency. Following are two links for a free online training and a library of cultural competency resources.
- Five module training course that helps health professionals overcome language barriers, address cultural differences, and determine a patient's ability to understand medicines and instructions
Unified Health Communication: Addressing Health Literacy, Cultural Competency, and Limited English Proficiency
Unified Health Communication: Addressing Health Literacy, Cultural Competency, and Limited English Proficiency
- Online cultural competency resources including reports, articles, websites, initiatives, workbooks, and clinical tools
Cultural Competence Resources for Health Care Providers
HHS, The Office of Minority Health
Cultural Competency Guides and Resources
Patient and Family Education Services
Culture CluesTM – tip sheets for clinicians providing concepts and preferences from various diverse cultures
Rural Assistance Center (RAC)
Cultural Competence and Limited English Proficiency
Management Sciences for Health
The Provider's Guide to Quality and Culture
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
Compendium of Cultural Competence Initiatives in Health Care
Following are resources for assessing the health literacy of patients, implementing language and translation services, and patient education handouts in many different languages:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine
Health Literacy Measurement Tools
HHS, Office of Minority Health
A guide to help healthcare organizations implement effective language access services (LAS) to meet the needs of patients with limited English proficiency (LEP)
Health Care Language Services Implementation Guide
Healthcare Intelligence Network
This report details educational and communication strategies for leveraging cultural differences to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare. It is available for $97.00
Cultural Competency in Healthcare: Translating Differences Into Improved Quality and Access
Healthy Roads Media
Provides patient handouts and patient education in various media formats by disease/condition in many various languages
Healthy Roads Full Media Listing by Topic, All Formats, All Languages
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
An easy to read pamphlet and medicine-tracking chart to learn about taking medicines correctly in 14 different languages (from the link below, choose language then scroll to "My Medicines")
My Medicines
EthnoMed
Cultural profiles, health profiles, and patient education materials pertinent to immigrants to the U.S.
Culture Specific Pages
Kwikpoint®
Laminated pamphlets that allow health professionals to communicate with anyone by pointing to pictures. Available for $14.99
Medical Visual Language Translator
CHAMPS
Quick reference pocket cards presenting medical, dental, and pharmacy terminology in English and Spanish to aid in communicating with Spanish speaking patients
Clinical Reference Pocket Cards
CHAMPS
Online patient eductaion tools addressing a variety of cultures, ethnicities, and languages
Mulit-Lingual Materials
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