Cultural Competence Development in Health Education Professional Preparation Programs

INTRODUCTION Culture has been defined as the values, beliefs, attitudes, and customs that influence an individual’s perception of health and illness as well as their health practices and behaviors. The literature suggests that cultural patterns are influenced by a person’s country of origin, socioeconomic status, rural vs. urban upbringing, gender, age, and religious practices. Given the importance of culture in the health status of individuals, it has been argued that understanding cultural concepts is vital to the delivery of health related programs including health education. 7, 8 This is of particular importance considering the increasing diversification of the U.S. population. 9, 10 It is estimated that by 2020, the percentage of the White, non-Hispanic population will decrease to 61% of the U.S. population. The roles and responsibilities established by the Role Delineation Project, the Competency–based Framework for Professional Development of Certified Health Education Specialist [NCHEC], and the most recent National Health Educator Competencies Update Project established the assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of programs as the key job responsibilities for health educators. What these seminal documents fail to address directly is the increasing cultural, racial, ethnic, and national origin diversity present among members of the U.S. population. The lack of explicit guidelines in these guiding documents for the profession relative to dealing with cultural diverse population could have profound implications for the effectiveness of programs targeting traditionally disadvantaged population groups, which may espouse cultural beliefs and practices different from the mainstream population in the US. 16 Moreover, researchers have established the need, opportunity, and method for addressing multicultural issues in health education. 15, 17–19 Realizing the challenges and opportunities faced by health care organizations in general and health educators in particular in reaching diverse populations, the