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Cultural Competence and Health Education 45

Health gaps and disparities continue to widen because goals and behavioral outcomes
may be set that are not shared by those of a different race or culture (Sue, 2001).
With the establishment of the National Center for Cultural Competence, the Centers
for Minority Health Initiatives and Cultural Competency, and other national and state
resources (Johnston, Denboba, & Honberg, 1998), a more concerted effort is being
directed toward making improvements in the skills, practices, attitudes, policies, and
environments of health professionals working in culturally diverse settings (Ahmann,
2002). Today ’ s concern is that those providing the product, service, or education actu-
ally look, talk, and act like those receiving the product, service, or education. This
“ look like me ” approach is very convincing in visual media advertising. So this approach
may be just as effective in health education and the related areas of health services and
health promotion. Whether the product is an intervention or training program, a pre-
scription drug, a call - in to a radio talk show host, a seminar with a nutritionist, a set of
pictures in a magazine, or the text message in a health pamphlet, there is a need for a
common translator. People who share similar cultural patterns, values, experiences,
and problems are more likely to feel comfortable with and understand each other, and
this enables translation (Levy, 1985). This “ look like me ” approach becomes a greater
challenge as the U.S. population becomes more and more racially and culturally diverse.
Thus the need for cultural competence becomes greater too.
The goal should be to increase health educators ’ skill, knowledge, and comfort
levels when interacting with people of color and people from diverse backgrounds.
Within this goal the aim is to provide multicultural training and experiences that chal-
lenge, stretch, and expand the health professional ’ s world and local view in any health
setting. Higher cultural competence is perceived when programs or services are cul-
turally responsive, cultural differences are acknowledged and reframed, and images of
color and racial blindness are projected (Atkinson, Thompson, & Grant, 1993).
Addressing the cultural competence of health professionals, individually and collec-
tively, and particularly those who are health educators, has now gained attention as
another strategy to increase America ’ s adoption of healthy behaviors.
Because health and social practices are usually the manifestations of cultural beliefs
and individual life experiences (Braithwaite & Taylor, 1992), understanding and devel-
oping cultural competence should be of growing concern to health educators and other
health professionals. Luquis and P é rez (2003) and P é rez, Gonzalez, and Pinzon - P é rez
(2006, p. 102) urge health educators to “ assume their inherent responsibility ” and to be
proactive in forging a partnership and collaboration with federal agencies in establish-

ing “ discipline - specific ” guidelines and interventions for cultural competence in the

field of health education. In the academic arenas of counseling, psychology, education,
business, and advertising, the consensus is that through being able to act as translators,
the culturally competent are more likely to be the key to success in getting people to
adopt healthy behaviors and in creating supportive environmental conditions, thereby
reducing the health gaps and disparities in this country. “ Cultural competence may
mean the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful program ” (Davis &
Rankin, 2006, p. 250).

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