1. Factors of Health Disparities

2. Health Disparities A result of a chain of events evidence by a difference in: The Environment Access to, utilization and quality of care Health status Or particular health outcomes that deserves scrutiny Differences which are unnecessary and avoidable, but in addition, are also considered unfair and unjust “Continual accumulation of unfavorable events” affecting people’s health that are connected to their broader social context © 2011 BJH Center of Diversity and Cultural Competence

3. Social Determinants of Health Life enhancing resources such as: Economic and social conditions in an individual’s life, a community or jurisdictions as a whole Conditions in which people live and work Food supply, housing, health care, transportation, social relations, education © 2011 BJH Center for Diversity and Cultural Competence

4. Health Disparities are: Inequities, disproportions or differences in the delivery, access and offerings of health care to groups or individuals These inequities, disproportions or difference are among the social determinants of health that contribute to health disparities.

5. Culturally Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) The CLAS standards are primarily directed at health care organizations; however, individual providers are also encouraged to use the standards to make their practices more culturally and linguistically accessible. Primary Standard: Provide effective, equitable, understandable and respectful quality of care and services that are responsive to diverse cultural health beliefs and practices, preferred languages, health literacy and other communication needs. Standards 2-12 are divided in three categories: Governance, Leadership and Workforce Communication and Language Assistance Engagement, Continuous Improvement and Accountability Go to website : U.S. Deprtment of Health & Human Services/ The Office of Minority Health/ Think Cultural Health https://www.thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov/index.asp

6. Becoming Cultural Competent Means… Approaching the definition of culture with a reflective eye and an open mind Incorporating an awareness of one’s biases Recognizing that diversity exists both within and between cultures Combining general knowledge about various cultures with specific information provided by the person

7. Cultural Competence is a Life Long process This means that we need to: Learn to recognize and reject our preexisting beliefs about a particular culture Focus on understanding information provided by individuals within the context at hand Resist the temptation to classify or label person; avoid fixed and generalized information