What constructs can you adopt to assess the cultural competence level among the team of health professionals, including health education specialists?

As a health education specialist overseeing a group of health education specialists and other health professionals working for the city or county public health department, you are responsible for planning and implementing health education and promotion programs for diverse groups in the community. The community demographic comprises 41% African American, 35% White, 14% Hispanic, 7% Asian, and 3% members of other racial/ethnic groups. Preliminary epidemiological data reflect disparities in the chronic disease incidence and prevalence among these groups (see Table 1 below for some examples).

Discuss

What constructs can you adopt to assess the cultural competence level among the team of health professionals, including health education specialists?
Describe the steps you would follow to assess this community’s health education and promotion needs.
Explain the cultural factors you need to consider when developing a program.
Describe the cultural factors that will influence the risk behaviors among members of this community.
Choose and justify the most appropriate cultural theory or model to apply when assessing the needs of this community.