Chicago, USA
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WHAT IS CULTURAL COMPETENCY?
We hear about cultural competency a lot these days and many people wonder if it is a new catch phase we are going through as a nation. There has been research supporting this for decades and many of the modules utilized in companies, organizations, and institutions today get their background from Cross et al. (1989). Cross et al. (1989) defines culture as an integrated pattern of behaviors that include thoughts, customs, beliefs, and behaviors of a certain racial, ethnic, religious, or social group. Competence is defined as the capacity to function effectively (Cross et al., 1989). And thus, cultural competence is explained by Cross et al. (1989) as acknowledging and incorporating culture, expanding cultural knowledge, and adaptation of services to meet culturally-unique needs.
If you look at this in the context of occupational therapy within schools which seeks to work with students in a holistic approach addressing self-care, functional mobility, vision, independent living skills, and executive functioning skills. Consider that 83% of occupational therapists are Caucasian women who bring with them their own unique life experiences and biases in an increasingly more diverse world. It becomes clear that we should take steps to become more understanding of the unique challenges that each culture offers and how we can use those to enrich our communication, treatment ideas, and goals making it more relevant to the family and student while increasing their engagement.
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