221905 Predictors of cultural competence of physicians in a psychiatry academic department in an urban setting

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Ashutosh Atri, MD, MS , Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, Houston, Houston, TX
With the increase in cultural diversity in United States, a need for culturally competent health care has arisen. Immigration has been the major driving force behind the recent growth of different types of cultural groups. With the demographic and cultural changes that accompany immigration and cultural diversification, it is becoming imperative that healthcare providers manage complex differences in communication styles, attitudes, expectations, and world views, as well as multiple languages. Apart from ethnic and racial differences, culturally competent care has also come to include care focused on the socioeconomic class, gender, and sexual orientation of the patients. Providing culturally competent care has been associated with improved provider-patient communications, improved compliance with medical regimens, greater satisfaction with care, and better health outcomes. A cross-sectional descriptive study will be conducted to examine variables associated with cultural competence among mental healthcare providers at the University of Texas, Houston. Differences between attending and resident physicians and gender based differences in cultural competency, if any, will also be explored. This study is underway and data collection should be finished by the end of March 2009.

Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture

Learning Objectives:
Define cultural competency and identify factors which make health care research into cultural competency very important List the variables associated with higher cultural competency in mental health care providers Formulate recommendations for future research to improve cultural competency Compare the cultural competencies of attending physicians versus resident physicians

Keywords: Cultural Competency, Physicians

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have conceptualized and executed a study exploring the predictors of cultural competency of psychiatrists at the University of Texas, Houston and the proposed poster presents the findings from this study.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.