The Need for Cultural Competency in Health Care

To highlight the importance of cultural competency education in health care and in the medical imaging industry.

A comprehensive search of the Education Resource Information Center and MEDLINE databases was conducted to acquire full-text and peer-reviewed articles relating to cultural competency training in health care.

A total of 1008 academic journal articles and 3 books were identified for this literature review. Search criteria was narrowed to peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2016, resulting in 24 articles. A majority of the research studies addressed cultural competency education in allied health professions, as well as psychology and athletic training. Recent research studies pertaining to the cultural competence of imaging professionals were not found.

Research shows that the behaviors of health care providers can contribute to health disparities. National standards have been established to promote patient-centered care that reduces or eliminates health disparities in the U.S.

Lectures and training sessions help professionals maintain these standards, but they might not be adequate. Health care workers need to interact and work with diverse patient populations to increase their empathy and become culturally competent.

A patient-centered care approach that responds to patients' unique needs and reduces health disparities among diverse patient populations can be achieved by training culturally competent health care professionals. More research is needed to determine the nature of cultural competency education taught in radiography programs.