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Study seeks to capture value of cultural competency training

Staff Development Weekly: Insight on Evidence-Based Practice in Education, June 3, 2005

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Although many experts agree that cultural competency training for healthcare workers (HCW) likely improves patient care for minorities, proving the training's actual value is more difficult. Johns Hopkins University recently released a study suggesting that scientific evidence of the benefits of such training in patient care is inconclusive. Researchers determined that insufficient reporting and analysis of cultural competency educational programs for HCWs led to the study's findings. They concluded that more research is needed to measure the influence of cultural competency training on the improvement of patient care for minorities. However, one of the study's lead researchers stressed the importance of cultural competency training and suggested that educators experienced in curriculum development work with researchers to improve the quality of evidence for future studies.

The study comes shortly after New Jersey passed legislation requiring physicians to receive cultural competency training-a move that Arizona, California, Illinois, and New York are now considering.

Source: U.P.I.

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