ESTACIO, JULIE ANN S.

Culturally competent health care organizations

Activity 1. What Tools or Models are helpful for assessing organizational culture:

 Assessment Tools

Organizational culture may be assessed in numerous ways. The Magnet Hospital

Recognition Program for Excellence in Nursing Services evaluates organizational climate or
culture (American Nurses Credentialing Center, 2013) and is used by many organizations as
a blueprint for achieving excellence (Schaffner & Ludwig-Beymer, 2003). Evidence-Based
Practice 9-1 outlines the original research that resulted in the creation of Magnet
designation. Evaluating the five key components of the Magnet model may be helpful in
assessing the culture of an organization. These five key components are transformational
leadership; structural empowerment; exemplary professional practice; new knowledge,
innovations, and improvements; and empirical outcomes.

Activity 2.Give the specific area that must receive attention in order to build culturally
competent health care organization

Cultural competence has been identified as a key strategy for eliminating racial and ethnic
health disparities. However, the competence must extend beyond the provider, into the system
of health care. It would be naive to assume that building culturally competent organizations will
resolve all health disparities. However, when health care is delivered within a culturally
competent organization, diverse health care consumers may be more likely to access the
services, return for services, adhere to the plan of care, and make necessary lifestyle changes.

Seven specific areas critical to fostering culturally competent health care organizations are
discussed in the sections below: governance and administration, internal evaluation of
adherence to cultural competence standards, staff competence, the physical environment of
care, linguistic competence, community involvement, and culturally congruent services and
programs.

Activity 3. Using Leininger's theory of culture care diversity and universality to assess the
culture of an organization. Compare and contrast the values and beliefs of the organization.

Leininger’s (1991) theory of culture care diversity and universality is also helpful in assessing the
culture of an institution. Leininger’s culture care model may be used to conduct a cultural
assessment of the organization, with dominant segments of the sunrise model identified. An
example of such an assessment is provided.

Leininger’s Culture Care Theory attempts to provide culturally congruent nursing care through
“cognitively based assistive, supportive, facilitative, or enabling acts or decisions that are mostly
tailor-made to fit with individual, group’s, or institution’s cultural values, beliefs, and lifeways.”
The intent of the care is to fit with or have beneficial meaning and health outcomes for people
of different or similar culture backgrounds.

Culture refers to learned, shared, and transmitted values, beliefs, norms, and lifeways to a
specific individual or group that guide their thinking, decisions, actions, and patterned ways of
living.

BELIEFS

Beliefs are assumptions we hold to be true. When we use our beliefs to make decisions, we are
assuming the causal relationships of the past, which led to the belief, will also apply in the
future.  In a rapidly changing world where complexity is increasing day by day, using
information from the past to make decisions about the future may not be the best way to
support us in meeting our needs.

Beliefs are contextual: They arise from learned experiences, resulting from the cultural and
environmental situations we have faced.

VALUES

Values are not based on information from the past and they are not contextual. Values are
universal. Values transcend contexts because they are based on what is important to us: They
arise from the experience of being human.

Values are intimately related to our needs: Whatever we need—whatever is important to us or

what is missing from our lives—is what we value.  As our life conditions change, and as we
mature and grow in our psychological development, our value priorities change. When we use
our values to make decisions we focus on what is important to us—what we need to feel a
sense of well-being.