Analysis of Cultural Competence in Healthcare Organizations

This essay discusses the importance of cultural competence in healthcare organizations, highlighting its benefits such as improved service delivery, enhanced respect, and increased creativity. It emphasizes the need for healthcare facilities to consider cultural, linguistic, and social needs of patients to improve efficiency and effectiveness. The essay outlines how organizations can achieve cultural competence by incorporating it into their mission and vision statements, policies, and procedures, and through continuous training of employees. It also addresses common barriers like language and cultural differences and suggests strategies such as community awareness, policy implementation, and representative recruitment to overcome them. The ultimate goal is to create a healthcare environment that reflects the diversity of the community it serves, fostering trust and cooperation. Desklib offers a wealth of resources, including past papers and solved assignments, to further assist students in understanding and researching this topic.

Running head: CULTURAL COMPETENCE HEALTH CARE 1
Cultural Competence Health Care
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CULTURAL COMPETENCE HEALTH CARE 2
Organizational cultural competence refers to the ability of a healthcare facility to deliver
healthcare services which are considerate of the cultural, linguistic as well as the social needs of
the patients. Cultural competence is one way which healthcare facilities can improve on
efficiency and effectiveness in the service delivery. Cultural competence presents several
benefits to the community as well as to the organization. A culturally diverse organization
implies that it can connect on a personal level with all the members of the community. As a
result, the organization can enjoy a quick decision making when handling matters in the
community (Betancourt et al., 2016). Cultural competence improves respect within the
organization ranks. This is because different members of the community are included in the
activities of the organization. Through consideration of different members of the organization,
the organization enjoys increased creativity in decision making. Cultural competence also
promotes trust and cooperation between the different members of the organization (Purnell et al.,
2011).
Cultural competence is required in an organization when a crisis has occurred, the health
facility has a shared vision and a common goal. An organization which is aiming to achieve
cultural competence has to take into consideration all its areas. This implies that the organization
has to set the mood of cultural competence in the mission statement, vision statement and the
values of the organization. Healthcare organizations should, therefore, set a clear vision of
becoming culturally competent. The healthcare organizations should set cultural competence
vision (Clark & Degannes, 2015). The activities aimed at achieving the vision should be guided
by the values of the organizations. Therefore, the values should also be reflective of the vision of
the healthcare organization. An example of a culturally competent vision statement is “an

CULTURAL COMPETENCE HEALTH CARE 3
organization which is willing to serve the diversified members of the community which it is
based at.”
Cultural competence is a long-term goal to an organization. An organization has to
undertake in continuous steps which will lead to progressive improvements. The organization
has to begin by making little adjustments in the most basic areas. This is expected to set the
foundation for the other steps to follow. The most basic level in an organization is the individual
level. The organization should aim at promoting respect and cooperation between the
individuals. This includes the relationships between the healthcare professions and patients as
well. Healthcare organizations have established mission statements which are aimed at
promoting diversity and inclusion (Purnell, 2012). The messages contained in the mission
statements are left in areas where they can be read by as many people as possible. This includes
the organization’s website, in publications of the organization such as annual reports. The
messages are also put in strategic locations of the organization premises which include the
waiting rooms, walls and along pathways.
Policies and procedures are instrumental in promoting the diversity and inclusion in the
healthcare sector. The organization should include policies which promote cultural diversity.
These policies should be aimed at handling the behaviors of healthcare professionals in relation
to language usage, ethnicity, gender, race, and sexual orientation. The recruitment of healthcare
professionals should be done on an equitable and open basis. Equal opportunities should be
granted to all the members of the community (Pecukonis et al., 2008). The employees should
also be representative of the community around. The desired attributes to be observed in the
employees include extensive experience working in diversified environments. Diversified

CULTURAL COMPETENCE HEALTH CARE 4
employees imply that the organization will be able to cater to the diversified needs of the clients
(Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 2014).
The procedures involved in the organization should reflect the vision to achieve cultural
competence. For example, the customer care department should be keen to address clients with
personalized attention. This can be achieved if the professional handling the client understands
the culture and language of the clients. Therefore, it would be necessary to recruit from the
community of the clients. Training and development would also be necessary on the part of the
employees. Cultural competence is a continuous process which would require the continuous
training of the employees. This would equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary for
the dynamic environment. Speaking is the most basic form of communication in many
organizations. The organization should, therefore, encourage the language of the surrounding
communities. Therefore, the local dialects as well accents are encouraged in the organization.
Speaking fluently in the generally accepted language should not be the determinant of success at
the job. the determining factor should be the actual job performance (Betancourt et al., 2005).
Cultural competence is an area which will require a diverse array of activities. The
healthcare organizations will be required to conduct other activities besides healthcare delivery.
These activities include the creation of awareness to the society on the importance of diversity in
the organization. the healthcare organization will be involved in activities involving the
community. This will play the role of improving the relationships between the organization and
the community. Healthcare organizations should aim at forming partnerships with other
instrumental organizations in the society (Kirmayer, 2014). Engaging the society will be on
specific groups rather than the entire organization in order to promote efficiency in connecting
with the individual members of the community. They include churches, schools, and community-

CULTURAL COMPETENCE HEALTH CARE 5
based groups. This way, they would be able to sensitize the community ion the importance of
healthy living. Through such activities, the organization will be able to get closer to the
individual members of the community. Determination of the level of cultural competency will be
on the efficiency of healthcare service delivery. Moreover, the organization should be a
representation of the community that it is serving through the employees and the services that
they offer.
Barriers and Strategies to Overcome Them
Organizational cultural competence faces different challenges, especially in the
healthcare sector. Cultural competency is a goal of many organizations yet it is still far from
fruition for many organizations. The most common barriers to achieving cultural competency in
the healthcare sector include language and cultural barriers. Language barriers refer to the
inability to understand the language which is used by the members of the community (Purnell,
2014). This will create difficulties in understanding the clients. Cultural barriers refer to the
differences in cultural practices and behaviors between the healthcare staff and the clients.
Cultural barriers create an environment of misunderstanding between the stakeholders of the
organization. in order to overcome these barriers, the organization should aim at creating
awareness throughout the community. Establishing the policies which promote diversity in the
organization is key in overcoming the barriers. Recruiting of employees who are representative
of the community will ensure that there is an understanding between the employees and the
clients. Moreover, the training of employees to equip them with the necessary skills and
knowledge to handle the diversified needs of the clients (Horvat et al., 2014).

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References
Betancourt, J. R., Green, A. R., Carrillo, J. E., & Owusu Ananeh-Firempong, I. I. (2016).
Defining cultural competence: a practical framework for addressing racial/ethnic
disparities in health and healthcare. Public health reports.
Betancourt, J. R., Green, A. R., Carrillo, J. E., & Park, E. R. (2005). Cultural competence and
health care disparities: key perspectives and trends. Health Affairs, 24(2), 499-505.
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. (2014). Improving cultural competence.
Clark, M. E., & Degannes, C. N. (2015). Cultural competency in healthcare: a clinical review
and video vignettes from the National Medical Association.
Horvat, L., Horey, D., Romios, P., & Kis‐Rigo, J. (2014). Cultural competence education for
health professionals. Cochrane database of systematic reviews, (5).
Kirmayer, L. J. (2012). Rethinking cultural competence.
Pecukonis, E., Doyle, O., & Bliss, D. L. (2008). Reducing barriers to interprofessional training:
Promoting interprofessional cultural competence. Journal of interprofessional
care, 22(4), 417-428.
Purnell, L. D. (2012). Transcultural health care: A culturally competent approach. FA Davis.
Purnell, L. D. (2014). Guide to culturally competent health care. FA Davis.
Purnell, L., Davidhizar, R. E., Giger, J. N., Strickland, O. L., Fishman, D., & Allison, D. M.
(2011). A guide to developing a culturally competent organization. Journal of
Transcultural Nursing, 22(1), 7-14.