Cultural Competency - Assessments
The Cultural Assessment
The cultural assessment is a tool to help providers better understand what shapes patients' ideas about health, illness, and disease.
Cultural assessments can help determine patients' beliefs, values and practices that might affect care and behaviors.
Several areas to consider when doing a cultural assessment include:
- language and communication process
- level of ethnic identity
- views about the role that ethnicity plays
- influence of religion/spirituality on the belief system and behavior patterns
- views and concerns about discrimination and institutional racism
- importance and impact associated with physical characteristics
- migration experience, if applicable
- use of informal network and supportive institutions in the ethnic/cultural community
- values orientation
- cultural health beliefs and practices
- habits, customs, beliefs
- current socioeconomic status
- educational level and employment experiences
- self concept and self esteem
Source:
Bloch cited by Isaacs MR, Benjamin MP. Towards a Culturally
Competent System of Care: Volume II . CASSP Technical Assistance
Center, Georgetown University Child Development Center. Washington,DC;
1991.
Patients' Health Beliefs Assessment Guide:
- What do you think caused your problem?
- Why do you think it started when it did?
- What does your sickness do to you?
- How does it work?
- How severe is your sickness? Will it have a long or short duration?
- What kind of treatment do you think you should receive?
- What are the most important results you hope to receive from this treatment?
- What are the chief problems your sickness has caused you?
- What do you fear most about your sickness?
Kleinman, A., Eisenberg, L., & Good, B. (1978). "Culture, Illness and Care: Clinical Lessons from Anthropological and Cross-Cultural Research." Annals of Internal Medicine, 88: 256-257.
