2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

331164
Pilot results informing an evaluation of the National CLAS Standards in health and health care organizations


Monday, November 2, 2015 : 12:30 p.m. - 12:50 p.m.

Crystal L. Barksdale, PhD, Health Determinants and Disparities Practice, CSRA Inc, Rockville, MD
Rodney Hopson, PhD, College of Education and Human Development, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Anna DiColli, MPH, Health Determinants and Disparities Practice, SRA International, Rockville, MD
Rashida Dorsey, PhD, MPH, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC
Lacreisha Ejike-King, PhD, MS, Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, MD
William H. Rodick III, M.Ed., College of Education and Human Development, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Jennifer Kenyon, BA, Health Determinants and Disparities Practice, CSRA Inc, Rockville, MD
Alexis Bakos, PhD, MPH, RN, Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, MD
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Administrators and leadership in health and health care organizations face numerous challenges in responding to the increasing demands of providing equitable, effective care and services to the increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse populations they serve. Culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS) are those services that are respectful of and responsive to the cultural and linguistic needs of those seeking care and services, and have been offered as one way health and health care organizations can improve their communication and provision of services to all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or other cultural characteristics. The HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) developed and released the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health Care (the National CLAS Standards) in 2001, to operationalize and promote a clear approach to implementing CLAS. The enhanced National CLAS Standards, released in 2013, provide a blueprint for health and health care organizations to advance health equity, improve quality, and help eliminate health care disparities; however, their use, applicability, and effectiveness in health and health care organizations remain unclear.

This presentation will first briefly describe a pilot study utilizing qualitative methods to evaluate how health and health care organizations become aware of, gain knowledge about, make the decision to adopt, and ultimately implement the National CLAS Standards. This pilot study has informed the development of one of several evaluation projects sponsored by and included in HHS OMH’s broader evaluation strategy for the National CLAS Standards. The presentation will then briefly discuss some of the major thematic findings of the pilot study, especially those related to the facilitators and challenges faced by health and health care organizations in their implementation of the National CLAS Standards to improve health equity.

Learning Areas:

Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines

Learning Objectives:
Describe potential facilitators and challenges/barriers to the organizational adoption and implementation of the National CLAS Standards from the perspective of stakeholders and health and health care organization leadership.

Keyword(s): Cultural Competency, Evaluation

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have served for five years on the project team for the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care. Among my responsibilities is work on the evaluation project being presented. I am an expert in the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate services in health and health care.
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.

Back to: 3257.0: Policies and programs to support or address workforce diversity, professional development and mentoring in health administration-II