Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #111129

Sadye Paez, PT, MS¹, Angela Rosenberg, PT, DrPH², Stephen Hooper, PhD², William Vann, DMD, MS, PhD³, Jessica Y. Lee, DDS, MPH PhD³, Janice M. Dodds, EdD, RD⁴, Kathleen A. Rounds, PhD, MPH, MSW⁵, and Lewis H. Margolis, MD, MPH⁶. (1) Human Movement Science Graduate Program, Division of Physical Therapy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, CB# 7135, Medical School Wing E, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7135, 407-312-4849, sadye.paez@cdl.unc.edu, (2) Clinical Center for the Study of Development and Learning, Division of Physical Therapy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1450 Raleigh Rd, Suite 100, Chapel Hill, NC 27517, (3) Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University of North Carolina, 218 Brauer Hall CB #7450, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7450, (4) Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 4101 McGavran Greenberg Building, CB#7400, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, (5) School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 301 Pittsboro Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3550, (6) Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina, Rosenau Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7445

Purpose: MCH has stated a primary goal to “support trainees [and] faculty [with] continuing education and technical assistance to train the next generation of leaders in maternal and child health [with an] emphasis on interdisciplinary, family-centered, culturally competent care with a population-focused, public health approach.” The purpose of this project is to develop a curriculum on cultural competence (CCC) for MCH professionals and trainees.

Design: The process of developing the curriculum is an expansion of the current model of interdisciplinary leadership training initiated by the UNC-CH MCH-consortium in 2001. The development process was adapted from a report by the National Center for Cultural Competence, “Getting Started…Planning, Implementing and Evaluating Culturally Competent Service Delivery Systems for Children with Special Health Needs and their Families.” Although this report is geared to policy makers and administrators, it details many necessary steps for formulating a culturally competent program regardless of intended audience. Consortium members used qualitative methods to review existing literature and resources relevant to the development of a CCC, including: cultural competence definitions and standards, outcome-based research supporting specific CC training modules and curricula, and CC assessments and evaluative tools.

Conclusion: Literature and programs addressing cultural competence can be adapted and developed to meet the MCH training goal of assuring that MCH leaders will be able to address the need for systems of care that reflect cultural competence. Active involvement in assessing the need for this training and developing curricula to address it are the first steps toward culturally competent organizations and care.

Learning Objectives: