Ann Kenny, RN, MPH, Center for Healthcare Outreach and Management Support, Science Applications International Corporation, 5107 Leesburg Pike, Skyline 5, Falls Church, VA 22041, 703-575-4153, ann.s.kenny@saic.com and Guadalupe Pacheco, MSW, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 600, Rockville, MD 20852, 301-443-3379, gpacheco@osophs.dhhs.gov.

With growing concerns about racial and ethnic disparities in health and about the need for health care systems to accommodate increasingly diverse patient populations, cultural competence has become more and more a matter of national concern. To train physicians to care for diverse populations toward the purpose of reducing health disparities, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health has contracted with the American Institutes for Research to develop the Cultural Competency Curriculum Modules (CCCMs). The CCCMs are organized by the three themes of the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS); Culturally Competent Care, Language Access Services, and Organizational Supports. The development of the CCCMs as a Continuing Medical Education (CME) program will ensure a wide dissemination of the curriculum and appropriate incentive structure for physicians to participate in this critical aspect of medical education.

This presentation will provide a brief overview of the rationale for the development of the CCCMs; a synopsis of the module design methodology, including pilot and field test strategies, and expert feedback elicited from a national panel of advisors; and will give examples from the curriculum case studies of how culturally competent care can effect increased patient satisfaction and positive health outcomes for minority populations. This presentation also provides participants with valuable insight as to the development of the CCCMs as a CME program with the aim of training physicians to effectively treat diverse populations. Presenters will discuss the user-friendly interactive CME Website and DVD platforms that will serve family physicians in the provision of culturally competent health care.

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