Cultural diversity and the delivery of health care services

Abstract

The demographic composition of the United States continues to grow and change, and the demands on human service agencies will become greater. This paper discusses the findings from an exploratory and descriptive study of the attitudes, perceptions, beliefs, and actions of health care providers as they relate to delivery of services to diverse populations. A climate assessment was conducted with nursing directors, health directors, and other health care providers. The assessment included a series of focus groups with health care providers and a survey of local health department personnel's perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs about cultural diversity issues and activities. Language and cultural differences were considered major barriers to delivery of health care services to diverse clients. Health departments were rated as average in terms their effectiveness in delivering services to diverse consumers. Many respondents had not attended workshops or training in cultural diversity over the past 3 years. The need for cultural diversity training of health care providers is great. Health care agencies and providers must began to move toward developing and implementing culturally competent service-delivery systems. These systems must be sensitive to and must include the cultural values, beliefs, and traditions of an increasingly diverse consumer.