A Three-Dimensional Model of Cultural Congruence: Framework for Intervention

ABSTRACT

Culture provides the context for all health care and social service throughout the human life span. Improving end-of-life and palliative care and enhancing patient and family outcomes requires a nuanced understanding of cultural contexts for those who provide care and those who receive it. The authors of this article propose an emerging model of culturally congruent care that can guide intervention for social workers, mental health professionals, nurses, and other health care workers caring for a diverse population of patients, families, and communities.

KEYWORDS:

• cultural competence
• cultural congruence
• diversity
• health disparity

This article was partially supported by National Institute of Nursing Research Grant #NINR R21NR010725.