Multicultural curricula in family practice residencies

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Public Health
• Cultural Competency

Background:

• A 1985 survey found only 25% of family practice residencies included multicultural issues.
• This highlights a need to assess the current status of such curricula.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the current prevalence and content of multicultural curricula in family practice residency programs.
• To identify factors that facilitate or impede the implementation of these curricula.

Main Methods:

• A 1998 cross-sectional mail survey was conducted.
• All 476 family practice residency programs were targeted by the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine's Group on Multicultural Health Care and Education.

Main Results:

• 58% of programs had informal curricula, 28% had formal curricula, and 14% had none.
• Formal curricula were associated with more content, diverse educational methods, and evaluation techniques.
• Facilitating factors included community/resident diversity and faculty/resident interest; impediments included lack of time, resources, and expertise.

Conclusions:

• There was a substantial rise in multicultural curricula in family practice residencies from 1985 to 1998.
• Formal curricula appear more effective and are linked to specific facilitating factors.