Cultural Competence Development in Health Education Professional Preparation Programs

Abstract

To date few studies have been conducted to assess the preparation of health educators in the area of cultural sensitivity and competence. The purpose of this study was to assess efforts and opportunities offered by health education professional preparation programs to prepare health educators in the area of cultural competence. One hundred fifty-seven department chairs or program coordinators completed a survey to elicit information regarding cultural competence and professional preparation programming. Results of the study suggest that most health education professional preparation programs are not offering courses entirely devoted to cultural competency. Nonetheless, it appeared that most programs are adequately addressing cultural competency content-related areas in their courses. The results also showed that most faculty members are committed and feel comfortable with addressing issues of cultural competency with their students. Findings from this survey support the need for the implementation of standardized cultural competency training for faculty members, cultural competency required courses for students, and for discipline-specific standards for cultural competency among health educators.