227480 Culture & medicine: Expanding a community-based cross-cultural and diversity inclusiveness training curriculum into an undergraduate special topics course

Monday, November 8, 2010 : 3:15 PM - 3:30 PM

Karen A. D'Angelo, MSW , NIH EXPORT Center for Eliminating Health Disparities among Latinos, Hispanic Health Council, Hartford, CT
Alison Stratton, PhD , Latino Health Disparities NIH EXPORT Center, Hispanic Health Council, Hartford, CT
Grace Damio, MS, CDN , Latino Health Disparities NIH EXPORT Center, Hispanic Health Council, Hartford, CT
Peter Kennedy, PhD , Department of Health Sciences, College of Education, Nursing, and Health Professions, University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT
Rafael Perez-Escamilla, PhD , School of Public Health / NIH EXPORT Center for Eliminating Health Disparities among Latinos, Yale University, New Haven, CT
A persistent challenge in health science education is how to introduce issues of cultural competence in meaningful, effective, and practical ways to time-pressed and overworked students. In response to this challenge, the Hispanic Health Council (HHC), a community-based organization located in Hartford Connecticut, partnered with the University of Hartford to develop “Culture & Medicine.” Piloted in the spring 2010, this undergraduate course offered students a foundation of cross-cultural knowledge, attitudes and skills.

Using a social justice framework and expanding upon HHC's comprehensive Cross-Cultural & Diversity Inclusiveness Training model, the course incorporated theoretical content on the topics of culture, oppression, health inequities, social determinants of health, patient-centered care, cultural competency, and the federal CLAS Standards. Through complementary participatory exercises and self-reflection, students explored the dimensions of their own identities, issues of bias and stereotyping, internalized oppression, and blaming the victim. Additionally, students practiced communication skills and cultural brokering using role plays.

The goals of the course were to: • Develop critical thinking and analytical approaches to address health inequalities; • Understand the social, economic, and political contexts of the health and illness; • Understand how issues of oppression create barriers to the successful use of health and human services, and to overall well-being; and • Develop individualized skills and strategies for enhancing cultural competence.

Student performance was assessed through reflective journaling, a personalized cultural competence action plan, and a case study analysis incorporating cumulative course content. Additionally, the course evaluation included self-reported pre/post assessments of participants' cross-cultural knowledge, attitudes, and skills.

Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
Other professions or practice related to public health
Public health or related education
Social and behavioral sciences
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
1. Identify the overall objectives of the “Culture & Medicine” undergraduate course. 2. Describe the major components of the curriculum. 3. Summarize the preliminary findings.

Keywords: Cultural Competency, Health Disparities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have worked as cross-cultural trainer for the past four years, developing, facilitating, and evaluating training that contributes to the elimination of health disparities. I coordinate the Connecticut Center for Eliminating Health Disparities among Latinos Cross-Cultural & Diversity Inclusiveness Training for health and human service providers.
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.