Scoping Review of Economical, Efficient, and Effective Cultural Competency Measures

Identifying practical and effective tools to evaluate the efficacy of cultural competency (cc) training in medicine continues to be a challenge. Multiple measures of various lengths and stages of psychometric testing exist, but none have emerged as a "gold standard." This review attempts to identify cc measures with potential to economically, efficiently, and effectively provide insight regarding the value of cc training efforts to make it easier for wider audience utilization. A scoping review of 11 online reference databases/search engines initially yielded 9,626 items mentioning cc measures. After the initial review, focus was placed on measures that assessed cultural competence of medical students, residents, and/or attending physicians. Six measures were identified and reviewed: (1) Cross-Cultural Care Survey, (2) Cultural Competence Health Practitioner Assessment, (3) Cultural Humility Scale, (4) Health Beliefs Attitudes Survey, (5) Tool for Assessing Cultural Competency Training, and (6) the Tucker-Culturally Sensitive Health-Care Provider Inventory. Relevant literature documenting use and current psychometric assessments for each measure were noted. Each measure was found to be of value for its particular purpose but needs more strenuous reliability and validity testing. A commitment to include psychometric assessments should be an expected part of studies utilizing these measures.