Office of Minority Health's cultural competency e-learning programs: Tools to facilitate the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities

With our nation's growing diversity and increasing health disparities among racial and ethnic populations, culturally competent care has evolved as one strategy to reduce health disparities – a social justice imperative. The HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) has developed Think Cultural Health, a cultural competency clearinghouse that offers a multitude of resources for health care providers, including three accredited online cultural competency curricula: A Physician's Practical Guide to Culturally Competent Care: the Cultural Competency Curriculum Modules (CCCM), Culturally Competent Nursing Care: the Culturally Competent Nursing Modules (CCNM), and the Cultural Competency Curriculum for Disaster Preparedness and Crisis Response (DPCR). Each program equips health providers with the cultural and linguistic competencies required to improve the quality of care for racially and ethnically diverse communities with the goal of reducing the health disparity burden of minority populations. The curricula offer a wealth of information in a practical and meaningful way, using case studies, pre- and post-tests, self-assessment exercises, and more. They were developed through a rigorous process that included: convening of, and ongoing input from, a National Project Advisory Committee made up of subject matter experts; development of an Environmental Scan; a Consensus-Building meeting; needs assessment focus groups; and pilot and field testing of draft curricula. Each curriculum is subject to a systematic, mixed-methods evaluation. Quantitative and qualitative data is collected through surveys embedded in the curriculum and focus groups conducted across the country. Results are utilized to assess the validity and reliability of the curriculum, and to inform what revisions should be made. Current evaluation results for two of the curricula will be presented. Data from these evaluations indicate that curricula participation renders a positive impact on practice behavior, promoting cultural sensitivity in patient-provider interactions. The suite of HHS OMH cultural competency programs supports the mission of OMH and the Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Standards in Health Care. They are designed to increase awareness of cultural competency and improve cultural sensitivity in clinical and non-clinical settings alike with the goal of reducing racial and ethnic disparities.