Teaching Cultural Humility and Competence: Lessons From Developing and Teaching a Multi-disciplinary Hybrid Online Course for Public Health and Health Professions Students

Health disparities are well documented as significant concerns that must be addressed as we rebuild our public health and health care systems to meet the goals of Healthy People 2020. As we tackle the disproportionate burden of chronic illness and access to quality health care of an increasingly diverse population, individuals working in the public health and health care sectors must be prepared to work effectively with individuals from diverse ethnic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. As we strive to reach the Healthy People 2020 goal of eliminating health disparities, health services education must provide students with knowledge and experience to facilitate their understanding of the root causes of health disparities and strategies to advance ongoing personal and organizational cultural competence to overcome conditions that perpetuate inequalities.

This presentation describes the development and implementation of an online hybrid course with 3 on-campus meetings that addressed cultural humility and competence for public health and health care graduate students at an urban health sciences university. The presentation will discuss development of course content and strategies to facilitate interactivity and student reflection given the complex subject matter and hybrid course format. Course assignments focused on the student's community or clinical work environment with specific readings and case studies that incorporated health literacy and communication, CLAS standards and exemplary programs. Students developed and shared individual professional and organizational improvement plans that incorporated lessons learned and opportunities for growth. Challenges and opportunities from course development and implementation for both faculty and students will be discussed.