The Center for the Study of Issues in Public Mental Health has been developing a methodology to provide benchmarks for performance measures selected as indicators of cultural competency. Benchmarks are seen as reference points along a continuum that in this case indicate the stages of attaining cultural competence among mental health providers. A multicultural panel of researchers, consumers, advocates, administrators and providers built on previous work in this area and developed a survey method to identify mental health care settings demonstrating progress in implementing cultural competence. Sites with several years of data gathering experience are used for benchmarking at the administrative, provider network and individual clinician levels. Performance measures covering key domains of cultural competence –needs assessment, information exchange, services, human resources, policies and outcomes – are identified and data for measuring them are requested from all participating sites through phone and in-person surveys. The benchmark methodology is pilot tested in additional sites and the staff time costs associated with gathering the necessary data are evaluated.
Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to list significant performance measures of cultural competency in mental health systems. They will prioritize these measures according to data availability and other resources earmarked for implementing cultural competency. And they will learn how to apply the methodology to their own circumstances to develop relevant benchmarks.
Keywords: Cultural Competency, Performance Measures
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.