Promoting Health Through the Social Environment: Culturally Competent Health Care

Culturally competent health care systems in the U.S. provide user-friendly services for patients or clients of various cultural backgrounds who may or may not speak English. Accommodating cultural and language differences may in itself improve health because:

• Patients or clients may be more likely to trust, and therefore use, healthcare services that respect their culture and language.
• Healthcare providers may improve the quality of care if they better understand the various health beliefs and practices among the people they treat.

Task Force Recommendations & Findings

This table lists interventions reviewed by the Community Guide, with Task Force findings for each (definitions of findings).Click on an underlined intervention title for a summary of the review.

Cultural Competency Training for Healthcare Providers	Insufficient Evidence October 2001
Culturally Specific Healthcare Settings	Insufficient Evidence October 2001
Use of Interpreter Services or Bilingual Providers	Insufficient Evidence October 2001
Use of Linguistically and Culturally Appropriate Health Education Materials	Insufficient Evidence October 2001
Programs to Recruit and Retain Staff Who Reflect the Community’s Cultural Diversity	Insufficient Evidence October 2001

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