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240 Cultural Competence in Health Education and Health Promotion

brokers can include community leaders and organizations representing diverse cultural
groups. Collaborating with organizations and leaders who are knowledgeable about
the community is the most effective way of gaining information about the community
and assists health educators in assessing needs, creating community profi les, gaining
trust with community members, and ensuring that strategies are culturally and linguis-
tically appropriate (USDHHS, 2003). In addition, community leaders and key organi-
zations can act as catalysts for change in the community, including forging unique
partnerships, which may be essential in the development of effective health education
and promotion programs (CDC, 2007).
Fifth, health educators must ensure that health education programs and services are
culturally and linguistically appropriate. For example, language can be a major barrier in
the provision of health promotion and disease prevention services. Health educators
must ensure that written health information is translated into one or more languages, as
appropriate for the community to be served, and must consider the literacy level of the
target population when developing written materials (USDHHS, 2003). Chapter Eight
discussed the importance of culturally and linguistically appropriate health communica-
tion and provided suggestions for addressing this issue in health promotion. Chapter
Eight also pointed out that effective communication is foundational for the health educa-
tion profession. Clearly, it is essential for health promotion specialists to learn to com-
municate across cultures, following the recommendations throughout this book.
Finally, health educators must continuously assess and evaluate the level of cul-
tural and linguistic competence in programs that are under way. Self - assessment and
process evaluation are keys to ensuring that health education programs are as effective
as possible. Self - assessment will measure how health practitioners and health organi-
zations are serving diverse populations (NCCC, 2006). The NCCC (2006) provides
tools and processes for self - assessment that determine the level of cultural and linguis-
tic competence of both the organization and the individuals working within it. Health
educators should use these tools to ensure that they and their organizations are effec-
tive in serving the diverse population in the United States.

STANDARDS FOR CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC
COMPETENCE IN HEALTH EDUCATION

Cultural and linguistic competence in health education focuses on the key issues of a
trained workforce and health education and prevention programs. The following stan-
dards are proposed for health educators. They are based on an extensive review of the pro-
fessional literature, many years of work experience, and the authors ’ own experiences.

A Workforce Trained for Cultural and Linguistic Competence
■ Professional preparation programs in health education must offer cultural compe-
tence courses that transmit and discuss the history, traditions, values, belief systems,
acculturation, and language of the major racial and ethnic groups in the United States.

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