Learning objectives

• Define the terms cultural competence, race, ethnicity and culture as they apply to health and wellness professions.
• Describe five ways that race and culture impact health.
• Identify patterns of health disparities and strategies to address them.
• Discuss the importance of diversity factors that influence effective cross-cultural communication in clinical encounters.
• List assessment tools to help therapists identify personal attitudes toward culture and cultural differences, and improve communication between clients, patients and massage therapists.
• Give three examples of stereotyping and its effect on health.
• List strategies to uncover and eliminate stereotyping.
• Describe three models of effective communication for providing culturally competent care.
• Explain the impact of limited English language (LEP) proficiency on health outcomes.
• Identify legislative actions to promote equity in language access for LEP patients.
• Select and discuss four reasons for the under-utilization of interpreters for LEP patients in health care settings.
• Describe four practical strategies to improve interpretation services to support culturally competent care.
• List and explain four components of self-evaluation and reflection to enhance culturally competent care.