Cultural competence in nursing homes: issues and implications for education

A research and intervention project to enhance cultural competence (CC) within nursing home staff is described, with particular emphasis on the qualitative findings generated during baseline assessments of 10 participating facilities. These findings, developed from an analysis of transcripts of 56 focus groups, suggest the importance of five CC concerns in the nursing home setting: (1) uneven staff awareness of cultural differences among residents; (2) challenges in both verbal and non-verbal communication; (3) minimization/generalization of recognized differences; (4) overtly discriminatory actions/comments; and (5) inadequate organizational response to such actions. Educational approaches to and implications of these concerns for staff development within the nursing home setting are explored.