Mental health provider cultural competence in the provision of services to Arabs

Abstract

ABSTRACTFactors contributing to racial/ethnic disparities (among Arabs) in mental health services include a lack of provider cultural competence. A cultural competence measure toward Arabs was developed and administered to providers in Northern Virginia, in order to assess psychometric properties. Factor analyses revealed a unidimensional construct of cultural competence toward Arabs. Additionally, higher levels of cultural competence were significantly related to higher readiness for change, and, specific to Arabs, more previous knowledge and familiarity, and utilization of books for knowledge. A model inclusive of these factors explained 19% of the variance in mean scores. Implications for research, practice, and training are discussed.