Understanding and appreciating cultural diversity is crucial when working with people from various backgrounds. Cultural awareness involves recognizing both the similarities and distinctions between cultures. These differences encompass various aspects such as communication, customs, celebrations, dietary preferences, music, clothing, and more. For instance, it's essential to acknowledge the sacred significance of the head in Māori culture, where it is considered "tapu.”
Why is this important in New Zealand?
As New Zealand becomes increasingly multicultural, the healthcare landscape faces unique challenges. These challenges impact healthcare professionals, patients, and staff relationships. Acknowledging and respecting these differences is vital for:
- Fostering positive relationships within diverse teams, including immigrant and local staff.
- Nurturing effective manager-staff dynamics and multicultural teamwork.
- Strengthening staff-patient interactions, promoting cultural inclusivity.
- Recognizing and addressing communication variations across cultures, such as language, non-verbal cues, identity, and inter-group interactions.
- Adapting to unfamiliar cultural practices.
- Cultivating cultural competence to enhance working environments and healthcare outcomes.
Why cultural competence matters
Cultural competence is essential for creating a harmonious and effective work environment. It entails understanding and engaging effectively with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. It requires the right attitude, skills, and knowledge, considering that culture and beliefs significantly influence interactions. Building strong relationships relies on mutual respect and understanding, encompassing factors like ethnicity, gender, spiritual beliefs, and more.
Elements of cultural competence
- Awareness: Recognising how our culture shapes interactions.
- Sensitivity: Being aware of cultural dynamics in interactions.
- Knowledge: Gaining insights into other cultures and their practices.
- Skills: Adapting knowledge in practice for meaningful interactions.
Watch: Cultural safety vs. cultural competence (2:47 Minutes)
The following video from the Medical Council of New Zealand explains the difference between cultural safety vs. cultural competence. Before watching, ask yourself: what do you think the difference between these two concepts might be?
Watch the video and see if you are correct.
Cultural safety is different from cultural awareness. Cultural awareness is about being aware that there are different cultures whose ways of interacting with others may differ from our own ways. Cultural safety is about the person who is receiving services being safe in a health and wellbeing setting.
It’s about feeling:
- physically safe
- culturally safe
- emotionally safe
- spiritually safe
Cultural safety is a vital aspect of providing inclusive healthcare.
Culturally safe practices
Cultural safety is about providing an environment in which the cultural identity, background, needs and differences of every person are recognised and respected. People must be able to express themselves freely and safely, without being judged by others.
Generally, culturally safe practices include understanding and respecting cultural values and principles of tangata/clients and their whānau/family. Cultural safety means healthcare workers and their organisations need to think about how their own culture might influence the way they take care of patients. This means they have to acknowledge their own biases, attitudes, and assumptions that could affect the quality of care. It's like looking in a mirror to better understand themselves and making sure they give care that respects the patient's culture.
When people feel safe about using health, disability, and community services they will use them. If they don’t feel safe about using these services they won’t, and their health could deteriorate. Cultural safety occurs when people who are being supported feel valued, listened to and respected.
Activity
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How differing values may impact care
