Cultural Competency Continuum
Going from negative to positive (left to right):
- Cultural Destructiveness: Behaviors, attitudes and policies that are destructive to a culture and its members. Examples include racism, stereotyping, collusion, and exclusionary practices.
- Cultural Indifference: Behaviors, attitudes and policies that are ignorant of or indifferent to the importance of cultural diversity and the impact of culture on health and health care.
- Cultural Awareness: Behaviors, attitudes and policies that begin to demonstrate sensitivity to cultural differences, acknowledge disparities, and refrain from making value judgements. Builds understanding of assumptions and values upon which and individual’s behavior and world view rest. Includes cultural self-awareness as the basis for accepting other cultural beliefs and values.
- Cultural Competence: The life-long commitment to developing the beliefs, attitudes, values, skills and policies necessary to respond with respect and empathy to people of all cultures, races, religions, and ethnic backgrounds in a manner that recognizes, affirms, and values the worth of the individual, family, and community. In the health care setting, cultural competence implies the ability to effectively intervene with patients to participate in creating positive health outcomes.
- Cultural Proficiency: Advanced cultural competence demonstrated by participation in research to add to the body of knowledge, develop new approaches and disseminate findings pertaining to culturally competent practices.