Providing Culturally Appropriate Services in a Changing Community 1. Explain the meaning of cultural competence, its benefits

Module 4: Case Study 1

Providing Culturally Appropriate Services in a Changing Community

1. Explain the meaning of cultural competence, its benefits and limits.

2. Describe how the demand-for-services should or should not shape Our Covenant Health Center’s approach to its community and original mission. (In addressing this, you must indicate whether you would or would not change the mission, and explain why or why not.) 

3. Examine the ethical considerations behind reducing the social worker and lay health worker to part time positions in order to provide funding for another part-time bilingual social worker and part-time Spanish-English interpreter. (You must look at this from all angles, not just one side).

4. Explain why you would or would not take this approach (as noted in No. 3) to provide more Spanish-speaking health care workers, and provide at least one other option for this clinic.

5. Examine how public health organizations and health care providers encourage their employees to gain “cultural competence” beyond being bilingual.