The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #73439

Angela J. Ware, PhD, COSMOS Corporation, 3 Bethesda Metro Centro, Suite 950, Bethesda, MD 20814, 301/215-9100, Aware@cosmoscorp.com and Betty Lee Hawks, MPH, Office of Public Health & Science, Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 600, Rockville, MD 20852.

This presentation will focus on the results of a national study of CLAS in MCOs. The study, initiated before the national recommended standards for CLAS were developed and released, was intended to define CLAS and its major domains and elements, provide meaningful national baseline data on the nature and extent of CLAS being provided in MCOs across the country (especially in light of the increasing diversity of the Nation expected in the decades ahead), and serve to inform and educate health plan executives, administrators, and managers about the nature and importance of such services, especially in communities and among populations for which language and cultural differences create barriers to health care access, utilization, and quality. A brief description of the study's purpose, methodology, and limitations will be provided with an emphasis on key findings, including the kinds of CLAS being provided by survey respondents, organizational characteristics associated with non-respondents and with provision--or lack thereof--of CLAS, and best practices. Also included will be recommendations for next steps, a crosswalk of the CLAS domains and elements used in the study with the national recommended standards for CLAS, and information regarding how the survey tool, protocols, and analysis plan can be obtained and used for self-assessment purposes by local public health agencies and others.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to:
• identify the nature and extent of CLAS currently being provided by managed care organizations (MCOs);
• identify limitations of trying to assess the provision of CLAS in MCOs;
• identify promising/best practices in the provision of CLAS by MCOs.

Keywords: Cultural Competency, Health Care Quality

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None.
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.