A Cultural Competence Organizational Review for Community Health Services: Insights From a Participatory Approach

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Community Health
• Organizational Development

Background:

• Cultural competence is crucial for equitable health service access and delivery.
• Existing frameworks for organizational cultural competence lack comprehensive assessment and evaluation studies.
• There is a need for validated tools to guide and measure improvements in cultural competence within health organizations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and describe the Cultural Competence Organizational Review (CORe) tool for assessing and enhancing organizational cultural competence.
• To evaluate the implementation and impact of the CORe tool in three community sector organizations.
• To identify benefits and lessons learned from using the CORe tool to improve cultural competence.

Main Methods:

• Development of the Cultural Competence Organizational Review (CORe) tool.
• Implementation of CORe in three community sector organizations.
• Utilized baseline and follow-up staff surveys, document audits, and process data for evaluation.

Main Results:

• Positive trends in organizational cultural competence were observed across participating organizations.
• Improvements were noted in both policy and practice related to cultural competence.
• Embedding cultural competence actions within broader organizational plans facilitated sustainable changes.

Conclusions:

• The Cultural Competence Organizational Review (CORe) tool is effective in assessing and improving organizational cultural competence.
• Sustainable changes in policies, procedures, and practices are more likely when cultural competence initiatives are integrated into organizational planning.
• The study provides valuable insights into the benefits and lessons learned from implementing a cultural competence assessment tool.