Cultural Competency in Health Services
The field of cultural competence has recently emerged as part of a strategy to reduce disparities in access to and quality of health care. Since this is an emerging field, efforts to define and implement the principles of cultural competence are still ongoing. Cultural competence in health care describes the ability of systems to provide care to patients with diverse values, beliefs and behaviors, including tailoring delivery to meet patients' social, cultural, and linguistic needs.
Describe cultural competency and describe its overall importance in the delivery of health services. Do you believe the healthcare delivery system is culturally sensitive in its delivery of services? Defend your position.