Transcript Slide 1

Cultural Competence and Health
Disparities— Resources, Context, and
Curricular Development
Harry Pomeranz MS, PA-C
PAEA October 30th, 2008
KNOWLEDGE
 Race,
ethnicity, culture
 Historical mistrust/prejudice,
 Health disparities and inequities
KNOWLEDGE
 Traditions
and customs relevant to
health care (sexual/gender issues, age,
disabilities..) without stereotyping
 Health beliefs/explanatory model
 Styles of communication,
 Autonomy vs. family decision-making,
 Patients’ access to resources
 Health literacy
Definition of cultural competence
Cultural self-identity
 Discussion of the culture of medicine
 Integrated into interviewing,
communication, PA Seminar classes

Socio-cultural classification of race
Taught using case-based module, lecture
 Taught in ethics, professionalism, genetics,
public health, pathology, pharmacology,
impact on health care delivery

Rationale and evidence for teaching CC

The Diversity Research Forum“Tools for
Assessing and Measuring Diversity in Medical
Education” AAMC
“Cultural Competence Education” AAMC
 “Recommendations for Teaching about
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health and
Health Care”, Wally R. Smith, MD; Joseph R.
Betancourt, MD, MPH; position paper, Annals of
Internal Medicine

Development of cultural competency curriculum
Betancourt, J.R. (2003). Cross-cultural Medical
Education: Conceptual Approaches and
Frameworks for Evaluation. Acad Med, 78(6),
560-569.
 Tervalon, M. (2003). Components of Culture
in Health for Medical Students’ Education.
Acad Med, 78(6), 570-576.
 Kagawa-Singer, M. & Kassim-Lakha, S. (2003). A
Strategy to Reduce Crosscultural
Miscommunication and Increase the
Likelihood of Improving Health Outcomes.
Acad Med, 78(6), 577-587.

Evaluation
Pretest-Posttests
 Approach to Unknown Clinical Cases
 Presentation of Clinical Cases
 Objective Structured Clinical Exams

ATTITUDES
Has the student learned the particular
importance of humility, empathy, and
respect in cross-cultural encounters?
 Does the student reflect on his/her own
bias and prejudice?
 Has the student developed flexibility in
making decisions and negotiating?

Clinician self-assessment and reflection
tools

Implicit Association Test is a tool to allow
individuals to gain greater awareness about their
own unconscious preferences and beliefs.
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/select
atest.html
National Center for Cultural Competence has
self-assessment tools for organizations and
practicing physicians:
 http://gucchd.georgetown.edu/nccc/selfassessm
ent.html

Stereotyping and Medical Decision-Making
• The Commonwealth Fund http://www.cmwf.org
Excellent article describing the levels of racism:
Jones CP. Levels of racism: A theoretic
framework and a gardener's tale. American
Journal of Public Health; Aug 2000; 90, 8; 12121215.http://www.cahealthadvocates.org/_docs/n
ewsletter/2005/Levels-Of-Racism.pdf
interactive exercise (Bafa Bafa)
http://www.simulationtrainingsystems.com/schools
charities/bafa.html

Self-assessment and reflection
Taught as case-based, on-line
 Taught in interviewing, professionalism,
ethics, clinical rotations

Evaluation
Standard Surveying
 Structured Interviewing
 Self-Awareness Assessment
 Presentation of Clinical Cases
 Objective Structured Clinical Exam
 Videotaped/Audio-taped Clinical
Encounters

SKILLS
Has the student learned how to explore
core cross-cultural issues and the
explanatory model?
 Has the student learned how to effectively
negotiate with a patient?
 Has the student demonstrated respect for
the beliefs of others?
 Has the student demonstrated selfreflection?

Cultural and Linguistic competence
L-E-A-R-N model
 Kleinman’s Questions
 Integrated into interviewing, health-care
delivery, epidemiology, public health,
genetics, pharmacology classes, medicine
 Taught using case-based modules
 Cultural Conflicts discussed as part of
ethics, professionalism, medicine

Cross-Cultural Skills
• L-E-A-R-N Model of Cross Cultural Encounter Guidelines
for Health Practitioners. On the Diversity Rx website.
Accessed at:
http://www.diversityrx.org/HTML/MOCPT2.htm
• Multicultural Health Best Practices Overview. Includes the
Kleinman questions. On the Diversity Rx website.
Accessed at: http://www.diversityrx.org/best/
• Mutha S, Allen C, Welch M. Toward Culturally
Competent Care A Toolbox for Teaching
Communication Strategies. Center for the Health
Professions, UCSF.
http://futurehealth.ucsf.edu/cnetwork/resources/curricula/d
iversity.html
Evaluation
Presentation of Clinical Cases
 Objective Structured Clinical Exam
 Videotaped/Audio-taped Clinical Encounter
 Role-playing in interviews
 Standardized patient (or faculty member)
 Observation in clinical rotations

Health disparities

Taught in epidemiology, public health,
professionalism, ethics, pharmacology,
genetics, medicine, interviewing
Health and Health Care Disparities

National Healthcare Disparities Report, 2004
http://www.qualitytools.ahrq.gov/disparitiesreport/browse/browse.a
spx
 Smedley BD, Stith AY, Nelson AR, eds. Unequal

Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic
Disparities in Health Care , Institute of Medicine,
2002 http://www.nap.edu/books/030908265X/html
Initiative to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic
Disparities in Health
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
http://raceandh e alth.hhs.gov

Health Disparities Collaboratives: A National
Efforts to Improve Health Outcomes for All
Medically Underserved People with Chronic
Diseases
http://www.healthdisparities.net
factors underlying health and
health-care disparities
• Freeman HP. Poverty, Culture, and Social
Injustice: Determinants of Cancer
Disparities. CA Cancer J Clin, 2004;54:72-77
http://caonline.amcancersoc.org/cgi/reprint/54/2
/72
• Mokdad AH, Marks JS, Stroup DF, Gerberding JL.
Actual Causes of Death in the United
States, 2000,JAMA. 2004;291:1238-1245.
http://www.csdp.org/research/1238.pdf
Racial/ethnic differences in cardiac care
Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation and the
American College of Cardiology
Foundation.
http://www.kff.org/whythedifference/
• The Commonwealth Fund
http://www.cmwf.org
Resources on the intersection of
race and genetics
• social determinants of health, January 2005
American Psychologist special issue on “Genes,
Race, and Psychology in the Genome
Era”: http://www.genome.gov/13014159

Department of Energy’s Human Genome
Project’s website has linkages to two special
journal issues on race and genetics they
sponsored (November 2004 Nature Genetics;
Spring 2002 Journal for Minority Medical
Students supplement),
http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_
Genome/elsi/minorities.shtml
The Impact of Stereotyping on Medical
Decision-Making

Taught in interviewing, medicine, ethics,
professionalism, internal medicine,
surgery, evidence-based medicine, public
health, clinical rotations
Bias, Discrimination and Racism: the
Impact of Stereotyping on Medical
Decision-Making

Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial &
Ethnic Disparities in Health. Smedley BD, Stith AY,
Nelson AR. Institute of Medicine. 2002.
http://www.nap.edu/books/030908265X/html/
Slide sets are also available on the Institute of Medicine website:
http://www.iom.edu/?id=4475&redirect=0
The Right to Equal Treatment: An Action
Plan to End Racial and Ethnic Disparities
in Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment in the
United States. 2003.Physicians for Human Rights.

http://www.phrusa.org/research/domestic/race/race_report/report.html
Stereotyping
The University of North Carolina’s minority health
project website has slidesets on these topics
from Dr. Jack Geiger (2005) and other
previous speakers:
http://www.minority.unc.edu/

Van Ryn M, Burke J. The effect of patient
race and socio-economic status on
physicians’ perceptions of patients. Soc Sci
Med 2000;50:813-28.