Cultural & Linguistic Competence in Health Care: Innovative Strategies to Improving Health Care Ser...

Cultural & Linguistic Competence in Health Care: Innovative Strategies to Improving Health Care Ser...: "Today, I was a guest speaker at the National Center for Project Access in Washington DC. The meeting was to discuss ways of engaging c..."

Innovative Strategies to Improving Health Care Services for CYSCHN

Today, I was a guest speaker at the National Center for Project Access in Washington DC.  The meeting was to discuss ways of engaging community partners and create sustainable programs/services for children and youth with special health care needs.  It was a great meeting and a great representation across the country such as Michigan Department of Health, Epilepsy Foundation, and Center for Disease Control were present.

Helen Dao
www.daoconsultingservices.com

CULTURE OF VARIETY: Increasing Cultural Competence for Management and Staff

Just want to share with all of you that on March 28, I will be doing a workshop at the Interagency Council of Mental Retardation and Development Disabilities Agencies, Inc.

Community and health care organizations, serving people with developmental disabilities and their families, must prepare their staff to successfully focus on the understanding of cultural differences among the population and the impact of culture on the abilities of professionals to advocate and acquire appropriate culturally competent services.  

 

For more information go to http://www.iacny.org

 

Helen Dao

www.daoconsultingservices.com

 

Cultural & Linguistic Competence in Health Care: Cultural Broker

Cultural & Linguistic Competence in Health Care: Cultural Broker: "I was writing a paper on cultural competency and mentioned the term of 'cultural broker' Someone said, perhaps we want to focus on cul..."

Cultural Broker

I was writing a paper on cultural competency and mentioned the term of "cultural broker"  Someone said, perhaps we want to focus on cultural competence and not cultural broker.  I believe this to be a fair statement because not many people are familiarized with the term of "cultural broker" which in my opinion is such an important element of cultural competency.

Helen Dao
www.daoconsultingservices.com

Human Capital...

I was reading an article the other day that talked about diversity vs. cultural competency.  I thought it was very interesting to see how the author described the differences between diversity vs. cultural competency.  Diversity is what people have as physical, demographic  and intellectual differences.  Cultural competency is beyond diversity, it relates to a person's race, ethnicity, cultural background, believes, behaviors.  This brings me to human capital, to me is when an employer takes advantage of employees' vast intellectual diversity such as education, thinking process, way of approaching solutions, knowledge, decision making, and values.  This is human capital as it relates to cultural diversity. What do you think?

Helen Dao
www.daoconsultingservices.com

Community Health Centers & Collaborating Partnerships

I was thinking this morning on new ways to work with community health centers on addressing health care disparities among minority groups.  I have talked with some leaders from community health centers across the country on their initiatives to make a change.  Pretty often the response is "we have the idea and perhaps the internal structure, however, we do not have the sufficient funding to help us work on it"  In my opinion, there is funding, however, community health centers should consider creating stronger community partnerships in order to develop a stronger work plan and strategies of implementation.  Here are a few tips for community health centers to building strong and sustainable collaborating partnerships:

• Identify potential partners that have the same or similar mission, goals, and need.
• Identify a liaison between your CHCs and the collaborating partner(s).
• If CHCs  or any other organizations approached a potential granter/foundation as a team of community partnerships working on the same goals, this can enhance the chances of getting funding (I heard this from the Ford Foundation of NJ at a conference in the Fall 2010)
• Identify one focus area that both organizations are passionate to work on, such as health care disparities in the Hispanic or Muslim communities.
• Have funding to launch your project.
• Project sustainability needs to begin at the start of the project.
• Use series of changes (small tests) to track success and challenges.
• Start project on a small region(s) then be ready to spread either regionally, statewide, or nationally, if required or needed.
• Have the project coordinator keep a log of all project details for future replication.
• Any project model should be created with the idea of being adaptable or replicated into other communities.
• Look at already tested and proven models that you believe can be adaptable into your project.  
• Have ongoing communication with collaborating partners and keep documentation.
• If funding is not sufficient, look into your internal structure and be creative in how to use existing services, staff, or project to enhance new project.

The list can go on and on, I just wanted to share a few tips and ask of you to continue adding to this list.

Best Regards,

Helen Dao, MHA
www.daoconsultingservices.com

Cultural Competence and Mental Health Clinicians

In a growing population of new immigrants minority groups, many disciplines have to be prepared and acquire the ability to meet the cultural and linguistic needs that these groups have.  One critical area of health care services has not being paying enough attention to the growing need of minority groups is mental health education.  Mental health clinicians do not have the appropriate training and tools to serve properly to non-English speaking patients or to meet their patients' cultural diversity needs.  Because of the lack of educational training for clinicians, the level of quality services is poor and many new minority immigrants do not seek for services or stay in treatment as they feel inadequate with their mental health clinician.

"National estimates indicate that mental health services meet the needs of 31% of non minority children but only 13% of minority children. Furthermore, children of color tend to receive more mental health services in juvenile justice and child welfare systems than in schools or mental health settings. In addition to the fact that minorities are less likely to receive mental health services, when they do access services, those services are more likely to be of low quality or ineffective."

Helen Dao, MHA

www.daoconsultingservices.com