Anca Mirsu-Paun, BS, Carolyn Tucker, PhD, Chanelle Richards, MS, and Bikashree Jaiswal, PhD. Department of Psychology, University of Florida, 212 Psychology Building, Post Office Box 112250, Gainesville, FL 32611-2250, (352) 392-0601 ext 260, ancamp@ufl.edu

Culturally sensitive health care has three defining characteristics: (1) it involves communicating or displaying cultural competence (i.e., culture-related knowledge, skills, experiences, and awareness) in ways that make patients feel that their culture is respected, and make them feel comfortable with and trusting of the health care that they receive; (2) it embraces the view that patients are the experts on culturally sensitive health care; and (3) it consists of recognizable behaviors of health care providers and staff, and health environment characteristics (Tucker et al., 2003). In the present research, the first assessment tools for measuring cultural sensitivity in health care were developed.

Based on the data obtained in an earlier study to identify Black, Hispanic/Latino, and White primary care patients’ views regarding the characteristics of culturally sensitive health care, pilot inventories to assess patient-centered cultural sensitivity in primary care clinics were developed. One inventory was developed for each of the following groups: Black, Hispanic/Latino, and White patients, physicians, non-physician providers, and clinic staff. Inventories for the latter three groups are self-evaluation inventories. Correlation and factor analyses revealed the inventories to be reliable and valid.

A major implication of this research is that the level of patient-centered cultural sensitivity experienced by primary care clinic patients can be assessed and used to determine the need for, and impact of, culturally sensitive clinic-based training in health care settings.

Learning Objectives: