What is cultural and linguistic competence? Today’s blog sets out to establish a solid understanding of this thought and why it should be embraced in all healthcare-related environments.
Examining the words independently can help us understand this concept and how it should be applied in the medical field. Culture refers to integrated patterns of human behavior that include the language, communication, actions, customs, beliefs, values, and institutions of racial, ethnic, religious, or social groups. Linguistics refers to the study of the nature, structure, and variation of a language, including the study of phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. 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.
In combination, cultural and linguistic competence is a set of similar behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals, enabling effective work in cross-cultural situations.
Additionally, cultural competence closes the inequality gap in healthcare. This competence is how patients and doctors come together and discuss health concerns with cultural barriers that enhance rather than hinder the conversation. Culturally competent health care providers are respectful and responsive to diverse sets of patients and help deliver positive results.
Culture and language in healthcare influence:
- Belief systems about health, recovery, and wellness
- How medical problems are perceived
- Behavior of patients and their attitudes toward healthcare providers
The presence of ethnically and linguistically-diverse communities and groups continue to grow in the U.S. and they all have their own cultures and health profiles. This poses challenges within the healthcare industry. Providers and patients both bring their individual learned patterns of culture and language to the healthcare experience which must be transcended to achieve equal access and quality care.
Cultural competence training is sometimes a component of providers’ preparation to work with patients, but unfortunately, standards are rarely met and the industry continues to lose ground on what cultural competence training sets out to accomplish. Sentiments of mistrust and discrimination are all too common in voices from diverse communities that critique their healthcare experiences.
Effective training and culturally competent professionals are necessary for healthcare providers to improve the standards and services they provide to patients. Training is designed to improve communication skills, enhance self-awareness of attitudes toward people, and improve care by increasing knowledge about cultural beliefs, attitudes toward healthcare, and the potential burdens of diseases in different communities.
What role do you think cultural and linguistic competence plays in healthcare? How do you think cultural and linguistic competence, or the lack of it, impacts both patients and providers?Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
