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Kākou: Collaborative Cultural Competency

Martina Leialoha Kamaka, Vanessa S. Wong, Dee-Ann Carpenter, C. Malina Kaulukukui, and Gregory G. Maskarinec

Winona K. Mesiona Lee and Mele A. Look (eds)

in Ho'i Hou Ka Mauli Ola: Pathways to Native Hawaiian Health

Since 2006, the Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the John A. Burns School of Medicine has worked to develop and implement an innovative, imaginative, and comprehensive cultural competency ... More

Since 2006, the Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the John A. Burns School of Medicine has worked to develop and implement an innovative, imaginative, and comprehensive cultural competency curriculum for our medical students. Recognizing that understanding culture, society and history is necessary to train future physicians who will work to improve the health of Native Hawaiians and all underserved communities in Hawai'i, our curriculum focuses on self-awareness, traditional healing techniques, effective communication and the social and cultural determinants of health. We expect our students to understand the roots of disparities in health and health care, including cultural historical trauma and colonization. Close consultation with community and cultural experts working with a multidisciplinary teaching team were key to the development of this curriculum, which utilizes didactics, small groups, workshops, simulated patients, service learning, community classrooms and cultural immersion weekends to teach the Native Hawaiian holistic view of wellness to our medical students.Less

Improving research on race, ethnicity and health inequalities

Natalie Darko

in Engaging Black and Minority Ethnic Groups in Health Research: Hard to Reach'? Demystifying the Misconceptions

It has been widely acknowledged in both health research and applied healthcare practice that health research on ethnic health inequalities is hampered by poor quality data. In light of this, it is ... More

It has been widely acknowledged in both health research and applied healthcare practice that health research on ethnic health inequalities is hampered by poor quality data. In light of this, it is argued in this chapter, that improvements need to be made to improve the visibility of ethnic minority groups in research and public health reports and in the methods utilised to research them. This chapter illustrates that by improving the equality and cultural competency practices of health researchers, we can improve the visibility of diverse BME groups in health research data and practice.Less

Interpersonal, Community, and Population Communication and Engagement

Anjanette A. Wells, Vetta L. Sanders Thompson, Will Ross, Carol Camp Yeakey, and Sheri R. Notaro

in Cancer Navigation: Charting the Path Forward for Low Income Women of Color

This chapter contains three modules that cover principles of communication, barriers and stressors that impact patients’ adherence, and cultural competence. The goal of healthcare providers should be ... More

This chapter contains three modules that cover principles of communication, barriers and stressors that impact patients’ adherence, and cultural competence. The goal of healthcare providers should be to communicate in a way that educates the patient, while also uplifting her sense of self-efficacy and motivating her to take control of her health. To improve follow-up rates among low-income women of color, providers must be aware of adherence facilitators (e.g., spirituality, social support) as well as barriers (e.g., psychosocial needs, stressors), particularly given that many of these barriers exist at the system level and providers are often responsible for initial cancer screenings. Cultural competency represents the foundation of health communication. Providers must be culturally competent so they can help women solve problems, make informed decisions, feel empowered, and place trust in their healthcare providers and the healthcare system.Less

Logistics, Leadership, and Development

Jared Mackley-Crump

in The Pacific Festivals of Aotearoa New Zealand: Negotiating Place and Identity in a New Homeland

Part two of this book begins with a richly detailed ethnography, reconstructing the fieldwork carried out at both the Pasifika Festival and the Positively Pasifika Festival in 2010. Examples from the ... More

Part two of this book begins with a richly detailed ethnography, reconstructing the fieldwork carried out at both the Pasifika Festival and the Positively Pasifika Festival in 2010. Examples from the fieldwork experience are intertwined with interviews and observations to provide an engaging narrative of these vibrant Pacific festivals. The logistics and leadership involved in each event are explored, highlighting by comparison both similarity and difference. It is proposed that Pacific festivals can be seen as a development tool with a variety of applications, such as engaging communities in processes of cultural transmission and developing event management capabilities. These themes raise the issue of “cultural competencies”, and the importance placed on people engaged in the process of festivalization being able to operate effectively within and across Pacific communities and institutional frameworks, where these can exist in conflict.Less

Culture and Social Work: Alejandra Pallamar & Sanjee Dahal

Alejandra Pallamar and Sanjee Dahal

in Applied Cross-Cultural Data Analysis for Social Work

In this chapter, we investigate the concepts of culture and explore the role that culture plays in contemporary social work practice. This chapter highlights the historical construction of the ... More

In this chapter, we investigate the concepts of culture and explore the role that culture plays in contemporary social work practice. This chapter highlights the historical construction of the concept of culture from 1990 to 2000 and contemporary understanding of culture across disciplines. We explore the idea of culture in anthropological research, in sociological research and in the fields of psychology and communication. Considering the expansion of market in all spheres of life, the chapter will examine how social work intersects with other disciplines to look at culture and consider cross-cultural issues. We link the importance of the role of culture in the field of social work.Less

Inclusive Education

Olivia M. Aguilar, Elizabeth P. McCann, and Kendra Liddicoat

Alex Russ and Marianne E. Krasny (eds)

in Urban Environmental Education Review

This chapter explores the dynamics of exclusion and marginalization in environmental education, the opportunities for inclusivity and accessibility in the urban context, and a reflective process ... More

This chapter explores the dynamics of exclusion and marginalization in environmental education, the opportunities for inclusivity and accessibility in the urban context, and a reflective process necessary for equitable and just environmental education. It considers how urban environmental education can address issues of inclusivity and access and shows that recognizing the complexity of cultural diversity and the systemic nature of power and privilege serves as the foundation for cultural competency in urban environmental education. It also explains the importance of inclusivity in terms of dealing with issues of equity and allowing sharing of multiple perspectives, which can lead to innovation in addressing sustainability issues. The chapter also looks at three cases that illustrate how some urban environmental education programs are incorporating inclusive practices: an urban water-quality monitoring program in Austin, Texas; an urban nature center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and studies of neighborhoods in Cuba, Spain, and the United States.Less

Overview of Culture and Cross-Cultural Research

Thanh V. Tran, Tam Nguyen, and Keith Chan

in Developing Cross-Cultural Measurement in Social Work Research and Evaluation

Different academic disciplines and schools of thoughts often have different definitions and categorizations of culture. No agreement has ever been reached in defining culture. This chapter discusses ... More

Different academic disciplines and schools of thoughts often have different definitions and categorizations of culture. No agreement has ever been reached in defining culture. This chapter discusses the concept of culture and reviews the basic principles of multidisciplinary cross-cultural research. The readers are introduced to cross-cultural research in anthropology, psychology, political science, and sociology. These cross-cultural research fields offer social work both theoretical and methodological resources. The readers will find that all cross-cultural research fields share the same concern—that is, the equivalence of research instruments. One cannot draw meaningful comparisons of behavioral problems, social values, or psychological status between or across different cultural groups in the absence of cross-culturally equivalent research instruments. Although this book emphasizes the importance of measurement equivalence in cross-cultural social work research and evaluation, the issues of cultural sensitivity and cultural appropriateness are the foundation of all types of social work research and interventions.Less

Training in Pediatric Psychosocial Hematology/Oncology

Daniel L. Clay and T. David Elkin

in Comprehensive Handbook of Childhood Cancer and Sickle Cell Disease: A Biopsychosocial Approach

As evidenced by the chapters in this book, psychosocial hematology/oncology (hem/onc) presents a wide array of complex problems and issues for the patients, their families, and the health care ... More

As evidenced by the chapters in this book, psychosocial hematology/oncology (hem/onc) presents a wide array of complex problems and issues for the patients, their families, and the health care team. Because the diseases are unpredictable and often life-threatening, treating the whole child effectively requires a multidisciplinary team of health care professionals working in concert to address the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of affected families. Working effectively on such a team requires specialized training to manage disease-specific issues such as pain, complexities of multidisciplinary work, and the stress resulting from working with severe and sometimes terminal illnesses. In general, there are many complex roles for psychosocial service providers in the delivery of health care (Brown et al., 2002), and for these reasons, the roles in the hem/onc setting can be even more important and complex. The purposes of this chapter are to (a) describe the phases of training, (b) discuss issues that have an impact on the training process, and (c) describe key content areas in which training is necessary to reach an acceptable level of competence for working in the area of psychosocial hem/onc. Although the team members consist of various health care professionals and subspecialties such as physicians, nurses, dieticians, psychologists, and social workers, this chapter focuses on graduate and postdoctoral training of psychosocial service providers such as psychologists, social workers, and counselors. However, many of the issues we discuss also apply to training in the other professions at both the preservice and postgraduate levels. This chapter consists of two main sections: the first section deals with the process of training, and the second addresses the content of specialized training in hem/onc. The first section begins with a detailed description of training that incorporates a developmental model of knowledge and skill acquisition. We then discuss current trends that have a direct impact on the implementation of training methods and the settings in which clinical training takes place. The second section includes a description of several content areas specific to the needs of patients and health care staff working in hem/onc. These areas address specific knowledge and skill domains and the methods by which these domains can be integrated into the training model. Less

Doing Community Psychology Internationally: Lessons Learned in the Field

Ronald Harvey and Nikolay L. Mihaylov

in Diverse Careers in Community Psychology

International Community Psychology (ICP) is an exciting and growing development in our field and worthy of serious consideration as a career choice. However, ICP’s unique rewards come with additional ... More

International Community Psychology (ICP) is an exciting and growing development in our field and worthy of serious consideration as a career choice. However, ICP’s unique rewards come with additional challenges in the field. In this chapter, the authors interviewed five experienced international researchers to describe past, current, and future community research and action in the United States, South America, Kenya, Hungary, Bulgaria, Russia, and China. The interviewees discuss how they got started with international research, found international collaborators, what it is like to do ICP research, and how they addressed practical issues encountered in the field like overcoming language barriers and working effectively with collaborators with limited resources and differing attitudes toward social problems. The authors argue that doing ICP is a methodology in itself: international work can expose one’s hidden assumptions about theory, context, and implementation. Conducting ICP research requires a level of creativity and humility that generates unique satisfaction.Less

Conclusion

Theodore de Bruyn

in Making Amulets Christian: Artefacts, Scribes, and Contexts

The Conclusion reviews the spectrum of amulets with Christian elements and the range of hands with which they were written. The formulaic character of many amulets with regards to both conventional ... More

The Conclusion reviews the spectrum of amulets with Christian elements and the range of hands with which they were written. The formulaic character of many amulets with regards to both conventional and Christian elements allows one to observe, in varying degrees, the ‘conditioned individuality’ of their writers. The salience that a particular element, customary or Christian, held for a scribe may be hard to determine. Nevertheless, some scribes, it is argued, were closer culturally and socially than others to the institutional centre of the Egyptian church. Finally, one must consider what sorts of persons, including clergy, monks, and nuns, would have been able to write the amulets discussed in this book, given the nature of literacy at the time and the range of hands with which the amulets were written.Less