What is culturally competent care? Connecting communities and healthcare equity
Culture is the shared characteristics of a group of people. It’s more than race and ethnicity. Culture can be made up of language, environment, disability, age, and profession. People often belong to several different cultures, which can all affect their relationship with healthcare.
At M Health Fairview, our 34,000 employees share a common goal: connecting people of all cultures to the care they need and making it as tailored and equitable as possible. We want everyone to feel welcome and comfortable visiting our hospitals or clinics.
To do that, we treat each person like an individual. Everyone brings their own traditions and preferences – and they have their own needs in receiving healthcare. We offer a variety of options, including access to translation services, virtual care options, and extended hours to accommodate different patient needs.
We must adapt how we provide care to meet each patient’s individual needs so that everyone receives high-quality care. We work with our patients to build trust and help make sure their experience is a positive one that helps them feel seen, cared for and respected.
Together, these practices are known as culturally competent care.
Why is culturally competent care important?
We know that some people such as immigrants, certain racial and ethnic groups, gender groups, rural populations, and socioeconomically disadvantaged people are underserved in healthcare due to structural and systemic racism and inequities and often experience poorer health outcomes, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. This disparity even extends to preventive healthcare, like routine physician visits or recommended cancer screenings.
We can do our part in supporting people to live longer, healthier lives if we make healthcare more accessible and welcoming to everyone. One example is our mobile mammogram truck that brings breast cancer screenings to locations where there is no in-clinic mammography.
We also partner with cultural organizations across Minnesota. Through these partnerships, we’re able to support healthcare initiatives outside clinic walls – from healing events in partnership with organizations across the Twin Cities to free vaccination clinics at area churches and community centers. We have offered free colonoscopies working in partnership with the Mexican Consulate. For our gender-diverse communities, we provide comprehensive, welcoming care and gender care services and participate in community events like Twin Cities Pride.
“We support these efforts to strengthen holistic wellness and community connection,” said Diane Tran, M Health Fairview system executive director for community health equity and engagement. “These programs and services extend care beyond our walls and allow us to support community-identified priorities.”
