A longitudinal study of cultural competence among health science faculty.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to measure the process of cultural competence over time in a group of Health Science Faculty teaching nursing and other allied health students. Faculty (n=28) were administered the Inventory for Assessing the Process of Cultural Competence Among Healthcare Professionals (IAPCC) prior to a cultural competence workshop, immediately after the workshop, and again at three months, six months and 12 months. The mean scores increased significantly with each administration of the IAPCC from the pretest administration (52.17) to the 12 month administration (59.71) demonstrating new knowledge related to cultural competence as a process. Key Words: Cultural Competence, Health Science Faculty, Longitudinal Study The increase diversity of patient populations in the United States demands a diverse healthcare workforce to provide optimal cultural competent care. A major thrust of the nursing profession is to increase the diversity of the nursing workforce. In 2007 the diversity among the 38.1 million foreign-born living in the United States has increased (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2009). The ideal workforce would be one that mirrors the population in both the nation and in Georgia. A University located south of Atlanta in Georgia has had an increasing enrollment of racial and ethnic minority students with disadvantaged backgrounds. U.S. News & World Report ranking of colleges in 2006 identified the University four out of the last five years as having the most diverse student population among comprehensive baccalaureate-level colleges and universities in the southeastern U.S. other than nistorically black colleges. With the diversity of the university and the patient population served, it is imperative that health sciences and nursing faculty have skills in cultural competence. Needed skills in cultural competence for faculty and practitioners in diverse disciplines has been documented in the literature (Ndiwane, et. al., 2004; Teasley, 2005; Leishman, 2004; Armour, et. al., 2004). Most of the studies related to measuring cultural competence among faculty have been cross-sectional studies that take place at a single point in time or pre and post administrations. Therefore there is a need to conduct longitudinal studies measuring cultural competence over time. This study purported to determine the change in cultural competence among faculty teaching courses in a School of Health Sciences after a cultural competence workshop and to determine their cultural competence at three, six, and 12 months. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Researchers have utilized a variety of tools in the mental health, social work and nursing profession to measure the constructs of cultural competence (Bernal & Froman, 1987; D'Andrea, et al., 1991; Leininger, 1994; Lees, et al., 2002). Grant (2003) developed a quasiexperimental study to examine the effectiveness of a teaching strategy, the Cultural Awareness Program, on RN-BSN students. The IAPCC was used in a pretest and posttest design format to identify RN-BSN students' levels of cultural competence. Half of the group was given the IAPCC before the Cultural Awareness Program began to determine the pre-treatment level of cultural competence. After completion of the program, all students were given the IAPCC to determine the effectiveness of the teaching strategy. Data were analyzed using the independent samples t-test and dependent samples t-test. There was a statistically significant increase in the level of cultural competence of all the participants. Campinha-Bacote's (1994) IAPCC instrument has been shown to be a reliable tool for measuring cultural competence. Using the IAPCC for a pretest and posttest in an educational setting is helpful to assess the effects of cultural competence training, courses, or content delivery within a course. Grant (2003) utilized the IAPCC and found that a cultural awareness training program for registered nurses had a significant impact on the level of cultural competence of nursing students. …