Page 72 - Cultural Competence in Health Education

50 Cultural Competence in Health Education and Health Promotion
These characteristics vary among individuals and groups, and the process must be

adaptable. The health education process is not “one size fits all.” Therefore cultural com-
petence is an evolving ability to identify which competencies work best for what aspects
of diversity and an ability to integrate client demographics in order to understand the cli-
ent; to identify problems, issues, and concerns; and to bring forth the resources useful to
the mutually agreed upon solution that best suits the client. (Additional models, frame-
works, and constructs are discussed in Chapter Six .)

RELATED AND DISCIPLINE - SPECIFIC CULTURAL
COMPETENCE PRINCIPLES
The 2000 Joint Committee on Health Education and Promotion Terminology (2002)
defi nes health education as “ any combination of planned learning experiences based
on sound theories that provide individuals, groups, and communities the opportunity
to acquire information and the skills needed to make quality health decisions ” (p. 6).
From this vantage point the fi eld of health education may be explained by, fi rst, what
it covers (content and scope). As a content area, health education is an umbrella struc-
ture; its knowledge base and scope run the gamut of health determinants, from life-
styles to environment, heredity, media, health care, and culture. Because health and
health education are multidisciplinary, their scope is broad and far reaching.
Second, taking a traditional approach and drawing from a concept of health as a
process or function, Green, Kreuter, Deeds, and Partridge (1980) describe health edu-
cation as “ any designed combination of methods to facilitate voluntary adaptations of
behavior conducive to health ” (p. xiv). As a process this design involves planning,

influencing, motivating, and supporting individuals, families, groups, and communi-
ties to adopt healthy lifestyles. Thus the skills and competencies of the health educator
must include a broad knowledge base and a wide skill set. Further complicating the

qualifications of professionals is their need for cultural competence in a variety of set-
tings and often in a culture other than their own.
The following discussions present some helpful principles that can guide the
individual health educator and the profession in developing personal and discipline -
specific cultural competence.

Principles for Personal Cultural Competence
Sue (2001) offers four principles to achieve personal cultural competence that can be
readily applied to health education. First, cultural competence comes from the kind of
firsthand knowledge and varied experiences that teach health educators about the

beliefs, behaviors, values, preferences, and so forth of one or more races or ethnic
groups. The caveat here is not to rely on the media and the opinions of others, which are
often fraught with misinformation, misunderstandings, stereotypes, discrimination,
prejudices, and biases. Rather, cultural competence should evolve from a variety of per-
sonal experiences. The second principle is to learn about other cultures by interacting

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