Grant for Nearly $10,000 will Educate Health Care Workers About Cultural Issues
VNA Care Network's Wellness Division received a grant for nearly $10,000 from the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation to educate health professionals about the ways cultural beliefs affect people's access to health care.
Marilyn Gardner, RN, cultural competency coordinator for VNA Care Network, will offer workshops and informational articles to health care providers in Eastern and Central Massachusetts for the new Cultural Competency Resource Program. Educational offerings will include the stages of cultural competency, beliefs and barriers, and communication skills.
To illustrate the need for cultural competency, Gardner cited the common view in the Middle East that "you are what you appear." When looked at from a health care perspective, that view translates into "if you don't look sick, you are not sick, so why go to the doctor." This makes it difficult to introduce and encourage preventive health screenings such as mammograms and cardiovascular risk assessments.
Many ethnic groups distrust doctors and nurses because of the Western "businesslike" approach to health care and the provider/patient relationship. "Almost all of the cultures we serve report a nonexistent view of preventive health care and instead only access care when very ill or in crisis," said Gardner.
Culturally competent communicators "are flexible and willing to adjust their approach to give appropriate care based on the culture of the individual with which they are dealing," said Gardner. She believes the new program will help the overall public health of area communities by strengthening community outreach and education, enhancing health care services, and promoting the public health message of early screening, especially among ethnically diverse women.
"Cultural competency is a process. We will never fully arrive, but being willing to expand our cross-cultural knowledge and adapting our services to better meet the needs of diverse communities puts us well on the road to cultural competency," said Gardner.
For more information, contact Cathy Romeo, program manager, Cultural Competency and Minority Health, at 888-663-3688, ext. 4528 or cromeo@vnacarenetwork.org.
This article first appeared in the Winter 2001/2002 edition of The Caring Connection, VNA Care Network's
community newsletter.