Cultural competence in healthcare describes the ability to provide care to patients with diverse values, beliefs and behaviors, including tailoring healthcare delivery to meet patients’ social, cultural and linguistic needs[1]
Dialysis facilities can improve their cultural competence by providing education about diverse populations to staff members. This can assist to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in care.
Some of the benefits of cultural competence include:
- An increase mutual respect and understanding between patient and the organization
- Increases participation and involvement in health issues
- Reduces care disparities in the patient population
- Reduces the number of missed treatments
[1] American Hospital Association and Institute for Diversity in Health Management. (2012, June). Diversity and Disparities: A Benchmark Study of U.S. Hospitals. Chicago: IL. Accessed at www.hpoe.org