Page 78 - Cultural Competence in Health Education

56 Cultural Competence in Health Education and Health Promotion
sexual activity. The culturally competent health educator can be instrumental in guiding
youths toward learning via role playing and applying refusal skills in simulated and
real - life situations that represent and fit the culture in question.

As advocate, communicator, and planner, the culturally competent health educa-
tor can be instrumental in seeking resources that relate to a minority culture, such as
using brochures written in the group ’ s language or translating a script for a role play
into the desired language. Strategies for ensuring that a health education program is
culturally and linguistically appropriate are offered by Davis and Rankin (2006) and

include the identification of the intended audience, use of appropriate terminology,
and use of native speakers to both translate and back translate.
In the role of culturally competent facilitator or evaluator, the health educator ’ s
role may be to bring groups of participants together to share in forums or focus groups
to identify specific needs and concerns of a particular neighborhood. Here, the health

educator may aim to create a tapestry effect by weaving in the views of all participants
while highlighting the way each view adds to the color and texture of the tapestry while
also strengthening its representation. Developing a sense of bonding, as described by
Dordoni and Larson (2003), can result in a greater diversity of participation in a less
threatening environment.
In the roles of implementer, administrator, and evaluator the health educator may
work closely with someone with cultural and political ties to the community to address,
in the most culturally appropriate manner, the strategies and resources for removing
the cause of a neighborhood issue. Health educators can increase their level of cultural
competence in this setting by using the facsimile case study approach suggested by
Pinzon and P é rez for studying the Latino community (1997) and by using AAHE ’ s
1994 guidelines for health educators to grasp a capsule view of the historical and eth-

nographic profiles of the major minority groups in the United States.
Lastly, in the role of resource person, the culturally competent health educator
works well with persons responsible for decision making and implementation. Here

the educator may actually study a health issue, such as the identification of factors that
lead to poor communication due to language barriers. Or the health educator may seek
training in the use of complementary, alternative, or holistic medicine and integrative
healing to increase his or her cultural competence (Pinzon - P é rez, 2005) and to under-
stand the resistance and reluctance of members of a minority group when they are
asked to use modern medicine and technology.
In any role that they play, health educators are asked to assess the issue at hand
from the perspective of the dissimilar culture represented. To do so is to recognize that
every cultural transaction is likely to be racialized (Hassouneh - Phillips & Beckett,
2003), genderized, age prompted, or value laden. This is to say that race, gender, age,
values, and beliefs, as cultural variables, add an extra layer of complexity to the princi-
ples of participation, empowerment, and cultural sensitivity that must be addressed if
health education programs are to be successful in any setting (Braithwaite & Taylor,
2001, p. 130). (Further discussion can be found in Chapter Nine , which addresses cul-
tural competence in the health education workforce.)

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