The document outlines the importance of cultural competency in healthcare, emphasizing the need for physicians to understand and respect the diverse cultural backgrounds of their patients to improve care quality. It discusses the definition of cultural competency, its implications for healthcare practice, and highlights projected demographic changes in the U.S. that necessitate enhanced cultural understanding in medical settings. Additionally, it introduces the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) aimed at promoting health equity and reducing healthcare disparities.

1. WHAT EVERY PHYSICIAN
NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT
CULTURAL COMPETENCY

2. CULTURAL
COMPETENCY
IN HEALTH
CARE This presentation introduces the
concepts of cultural competency and
health disparities and biases that
may arise when treating patients of
different backgrounds.
2

3. WHAT IS CULTURAL
COMPETENCY?
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
defines cultural competency as “the level of knowledge-
based skills required to provide effective clinical care to
patients from a particular ethnic or racial group.” 1
Religion, age, generation, economic class, disability, gender,
sexual orientation, and other traits may also define a cultural
identity.
3
WHAT IS CULTURAL
COMPETENCY?

4. HHS further defines cultural competency as a “set of congruent
behaviors, attitudes, and policies” that come together to enable
effective work in cross-cultural situations. 1
4
WHAT IS CULTURAL
COMPETENCY?

5. “Culture” is defined as “integrated patterns of human behavior,” including
language, customs, beliefs, and institutions of racial, ethnic, social
or religious groups, while “‘competence’ implies having the capacity
to function effectively as an individual and an organization within
the context of the cultural beliefs, behaviors, and needs presented by
consumers and their communities.” 1
5
WHAT IS CULTURAL
COMPETENCY?

6. WHY IT MATTERS FOR
PHYSICIANS
According to the U.S. Census Bureau:
• The U.S. population is expected to grow from 310 million in
2014 to 400 million in 2051 and 417 million in 2060.
• In 2020, more than half of all children are part of a minority
race or ethnic group. 2, 3
6

7. According to the U.S. Census Bureau:
• The minority population is projected to rise to 56 percent of the total in
2060, compared with 38 percent in 2014.
• By 2044, the US is projected to become a plurality nation. Meaning,
no race or ethnic group is projected to have greater than a 50 percent
share of the nation’s total population. 2
WHY IT MATTERS FOR
PHYSICIANS
7

8. These statistics suggest that health care professionals
will increasingly need to recognize and work with cultural
differences to deliver quality health care. This ability is
“cultural competency.”
8
WHAT IT MEANS FOR
HEALTH CARE

9. BATTLING CULTURAL
BIAS
Cultural competency is not merely about being respectful of
a person’s cultural background, religious beliefs, or language
proficiency, it is also about ensuring that cultural bias does
not affect your personal interactions.
Assuming that one’s own culture is accepted as “normal” and
shared by everyone is cultural bias.
9

10. Awareness of cultural differences can go a long way toward battling
cultural bias. In the health care environment, cultural biases can lead to:
• poor communication;
• a lack of understanding; and
• patients withdrawing from their physicians.
BATTLING CULTURAL
BIAS
10

11. Cultural bias can also lead to:
• incorrect diagnosis and treatment; and
• lack of continuity of care.
Additionally, patients who feel their doctor is respectful of their
background are more likely to be compliant with treatment.
BATTLING CULTURAL
BIAS
11

12. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has published a
list of National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically
Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care (National
CLAS Standards).
12
TAKE ACTION TOWARDS
CULTURAL COMPETENCY

13. These standards are intended to “advance health equity, improve quality,
and help eliminate health care disparities by providing a blueprint for
individuals and health care organizations to implement culturally and
linguistically appropriate services.” 4
13
TAKE ACTION TOWARDS
CULTURAL COMPETENCY

14. NATIONAL CLAS
STANDARDS
Principal Standard
1. Provide effective, equitable, understandable, and
respectful quality care and services that are responsive
to diverse cultural health beliefs and practices, preferred
languages, health literacy, and other communication needs.
14

15. 2. Advance and sustain organizational governance and leadership
that promotes CLAS and health equity through policy, practices, and
allocated resources.
3. Recruit, promote, and support a culturally and linguistically diverse
governance, leadership, and workforce that are responsive to the
population in the service area.
NATIONAL CLAS
STANDARDS
15
Governance, Leadership, and Workforce

16. NATIONAL CLAS
STANDARDS
16
Governance, Leadership, and Workforce (continued)
4. Educate and train governance, leadership, and workforce
about culturally and linguistically appropriate policies and
practices on an ongoing basis.

17. NATIONAL CLAS
STANDARDS
Communication and Language Assistance
5. Offer language assistance to individuals who have limited English
proficiency and/or other communication needs, at no cost to them, to
facilitate timely access to all health care and services.
6. Inform all individuals of the availability of language assistance
services clearly and in their preferred language, verbally, and in writing.
17

18. NATIONAL CLAS
STANDARDS
Communication and Language Assistance (continued)
7. Ensure the competence of individuals providing language assistance,
and avoid using untrained individuals and/or minors as interpreters.
8. Provide easy-to-understand print and multimedia materials and
signage in the languages commonly used by the populations in the
service area.
18

19. NATIONAL CLAS
STANDARDS
Engagement, Continuous Improvement, and Accountability
9. Establish culturally and linguistically appropriate goals, policies,
and management accountability, and infuse them throughout the
organization.
10. Conduct ongoing assessments of the organization’s CLAS-related
activities, and integrate CLAS-related measures into your organization’s
regular quality assessments and improvement activities.
19

20. NATIONAL CLAS
STANDARDS
Engagement, Continuous Improvement, and Accountability (continued)
11. Collect and maintain accurate and reliable demographic data
to monitor and evaluate the impact of CLAS on health equity and
outcomes and to inform service delivery.
12. Conduct regular assessments of community health assets and
needs. Use the results to plan and establish services that respond to
the cultural and linguistic diversity of populations in the service area.
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21. NATIONAL CLAS
STANDARDS
Engagement, Continuous Improvement, and Accountability (continued)
13. Partner with the community to design, implement, and evaluate
policies, practices, and services to ensure cultural and linguistic
appropriateness.
14. Create conflict-and grievance-resolution processes that are culturally
and linguistically appropriate to identify, prevent, and resolve conflicts
or complaints.
21

22. NATIONAL CLAS
STANDARDS
Engagement, Continuous Improvement, and Accountability
(continued)
15. Communicate your organization’s progress in
implementing and sustaining CLAS to all stakeholders,
constituents, and the general public. 5
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23. 1. Definitions of Cultural Competence. Curricula Enhancement
Module Series. Available at: https://nccc.georgetown.edu/curricula/
culturalcompetence.html.
2. Projections of the Size and Composition of the U.S. Population: 2014
to 2060. United States Census Bureau. U.S. Department of Commerce.
Issued March 2015. Available at: http://www.census.gov/content/dam/
Census/library/publications/2015/demo/p25-1143.pdf.
23
SOURCES

24. 3. Dudley Poston. 3 Ways the U.S. Population Will Change Over the Next
Decade. PBS News Hour. Available at: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/
nation/3-ways-that-the-u-s-population-will-change-over-the-next-decade.
4. Cultural Respect. National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of
Health & Human Services. Available at: https://www.nih.gov/institutes-
nih/nih-office-director/office-communications-public-liaison/clear-
communication/cultural-respect.
24
SOURCES

25. 5. National CLAS Standards. Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department
of Health and Human Service. Available at: http://minorityhealth.hhs.
gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=2&lvlid=53.
25
SOURCES

26. • National Center for Cultural Competence:
http://nccc.georgetown.edu
• Religious Beliefs and Healthcare Decisions:
http://www.advocatehealth.com/beliefs
• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, A Physician’s
Practical Guide to Culturally Competent Care:
https://cccm.thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov
26
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

27. PROTECTION FOR A
NEW ERA OF MEDICINE
ABOUT TMLT:
With more than 36,000 health care professionals in its care, Texas Medical
Liability Trust (TMLT) provides malpractice insurance and related products
to physicians. Our purpose is to make a positive impact on the quality of
health care for patients by educating, protecting, and defending physicians.
www.tmlt.org