Question

what are the 5 components of cultural compentence? provide examples

Answer 1

Cultural competence is a process in which health professional continually strives to act respectfully, sensitively, and professionally within the cultural context.

The 5 components of cultural competence are:

1.Cultural awareness:

Knowing other cultures exist and knowing biases you may have; the process of conducting a self-examination of one's own biases towards other cultures and the in-depth exploration of one's cultural and professional background.

Eg:  Being aware of your own individual biases and reactions to people who are of a culture or background significantly different from your own. By being aware of your own internal biases you can begin to work towards other aspects of Cultural Competency

2. Cultural knowledge

Process in which healthcare professional find a sound info base on worldviews of different cultural & ethnic groups, diseases and health conditions, and variations in drug metabolism among different ethnic groups.

Eg: Research into human behaviour has shown that our values and beliefs about equality may not line up with our actual behaviours and further we often are ignorant as to the degree of difference between our beliefs and our actions. It has been shown that people who may test well in regards to having low prejudices may in fact act with great prejudice when actually interacting with other cultures. Understanding this disconnect is why knowledge is considered a key aspect of developing one’s own cultural competence.

3. Cultural skill

Ability to conduct a cultural assessment to collect relevant cultural data regarding the client's presenting problem as well as conducting a culturally-based physical assessment.

Eg: This component is about actually taking practices of cultural competency and repeating them until they become integrate into one’s daily behaviours. The most important aspect of the skills component is having an excellent grasp on effective and respectful communication whether within an organization or between individuals. An often overlooked aspect of communication is body language and the sometimes extreme variation in the meaning of gestures between one culture and another.

4. Cultural encounter

Encourages healthcare professional to directly engage in face-to-face cultural interactions

Eg: The Indian nurses working in western countries and directly giving care with respect to their culture.

5.Cultural desire

Motivation to want to engage in the process of becoming culturally aware.

Eg: The health care professionals need to adjust and adapt to patients who come from different countries of origin or ethnical background.