Cultural Competency Programs

The selection of data analysis techniques to deal with research questions or hypotheses and the techniques chosen for the data collection is informed and guided by what we call the research method. Hence, research method is a procedure, and also the analytical techniques to be chosen and the methods to be chosen will also be dictated by the choices of the methodologies made and by the theoretical framework (Sumner and Tribe, 2008).

Cultural Competency in general is related to the ability to serve people in an appropriate way where they feel respected. In health care this refers to comfortable treatments that meet the standards of the patient from any backgrounds with all their different ways of living. Health care is a very important matter to every culture with different beliefs, traits, linguistics, etc. As Tamu Nolfo, the certified prevention specialist states in the short video “What is cultural competence and why is it important?”, there is still a problem with inequality in the United States. This makes it difficult to connect with such diverse cultures and backgrounds. It is; however, very important to have health care providers with cultural competent manners

Health disparities refer to the differences of the health status, injury and disease prevention, and optimal health opportunity achieving, which are experienced by different groups of people (CDC., 2008). These groups of people can be defined by such factors (determinants) as the gender, ethnicity and race, social and community networks, living and working conditions (education, income, unemployment, work environment, housing), and socioeconomic position (Hernandez & Blazer, 2006).

4). These findings help to shed light on some of the health issues faced by this population and elicits the need for a targeted culturally appropriate approach to reducing the disparities in health, faced by African immigrants in the U.S.

Reflecting on the Caucasian-American culture required for me to first look into what my culture actually entails. In this paper I will discuss what elements of my culture are beneficial as well as detrimental to my health, the health disparities that my culture faces, what about my culture causes those disparities, and how society contributes to these disparities. Only upon this analysis of my culture and myself will I truly understand the health risks of being a Caucasian-American.

The data source that we reviewed is called the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), which can be located at http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/. The BRFSS is a national health survey system that collects data from U.S. residents in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and in three U.S. territories (CDC, 2014). The data consists of health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and the use of preventive services (CDC, 2014). States use this data to address urgent and emerging health issues like the vaccine shortage during the 2004-2005 flu season, as well as, the impact of Hurricane Katrina and Rita in 2005 (CDC, 2014). The BRFSS is also used by public health professionals from all 50 states for

Ahmed, S., Wilson, K., Henricksen, R., & Jones, J. (2011). What Does It Mean to Be a Culturally-Competent Counselor? Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology, 3(1), 17-28. Retrieved from http://www.psysr.org/jsacp/ahmed-v3n1-11_17-28.pdf

Compared to other nations, such as its neighbour America, Canada has continuously been viewed as a more diverse, respectful, and accepting country. However, Canada is not as perfect as it is deemed. Racial discrimination exists in many parts of the country, including British Columbia. Historical acts of overt racism showcased BC as a narrow-minded province, however, the province has made immense strides in becoming more welcoming and inclusive. Nevertheless, covert racism is still prevalent in the province. Visible minority immigrants can often be victims of institutional and personally mediated racism and bear negative health consequences. Racial discrimination can indirectly impact immigrants’ health by influencing exposure and

LeBeauf, I., Smaby, M., & Maddux, C. (2009). Adapting counseling skills for multicultural and diverse clients. In G.R. Walz, I.C. Bleuer, & R.K. Yep (Eds.), Compelling counseling interventions: VISTAS 2009. 33-42. Alexandria, V.A.: American Counseling Association.

The interactive content on the web site page Unnatural Causes—Accumulating Advantage really showed how race and class discrimination can impact the health of minorities. The exercise was able to show the disadvantage of being the minority population that some may not realize. Racial discrimination whether at school, shopping or owning your own home can contribute to stress in the minority population which can lead to other health concerns. Higher blood pressure due to stress can cause negative coping behaviors also that can cause health problems such as smoking, overeating, substance abuse and violence. According to the text some studies have shown that subtle discrimination actually has a greater impact on mental health than obvious bigotry.

Ganz et al. (2009) and Roddy et al. (2009) both emphasize the importance of utilizing evidence-based research in health care services. Ganz et al. (2009) research study is a quantitative study which seeks to determine what is the best evidence-based research that relates to oral care practices for ICU nurses. The purpose of this study is to describe the oral-care practices of ICU Nurses, compare these practices to current evidence, and determine whether personal demographics or professional characteristics were related to evidence-based, oral-care practice (Ganz et al., 2009). The independent variable in this study is the ICU nurses personal demographics and profession while the dependent variable is the measure of the priority in oral care

Summary of “Perceptions of Latinos, African Americans, and Whites on Media as a Health Information Source”

Education, occupation, and income all play an integral part in the make-up of an individuals combined socioeconomic status, better known as SES. It is considered to be a sociological measure of a person’s work experience and of an individual’s, or family’s, economic and social position (Baker 2014). Socioeconomic status plays a role in individuals transitions to employment, schooling, and social spheres (Scharoun-lee, et. al.,2011). However, in many cases SES plays an even profounder role in the make-up and the measure of an individual’s health outcomes. The intersection between health outcomes and socioeconomic status is often overlooked, due to clouding factors of policy and politics. However, now more than ever, as medicine moves into its

-Capitation: A type of payment method with a fixed per capita that is made to health care providers by a care group management for medical services which being provided for individuals. In this case, care providers are assuming the financial risks. Those with coverages under the Affordable Care Act rely heavily on capitation. Under this payment method, health insurance companies pay the providers a set amount of money over a period (each month) to see number of patients. For example, insurance companies are to pay $50/patient for 50 patients/month. Whether the provider sees all 50 patients in that month or not, the provider will still be paid $50/patient for 50 patients. The disadvantage with that is if the providers are seeing more than 50

Net worth was used as a measure of wealth and this team went on to use logistics to analytically test their hypothesis. In this study they studied three different racial/ethnic groups: Hispanic, white, and black. They got details of their wealth such as the value of their vehicle, checking account total, savings account, primary residence, retirement funds, mutual funds/stocks, debts, etc. This study shows the prevalence of wealth disparity and how it is affecting racial/ethnic groups. In conclusion, they found that wealth differentials within these groups were significantly associated with health disparities. This shows the importance of measuring wealth when analyzing health disparities within these racial/ethnic