Tools Help FPs Give Culturally, Linguistically Appropriate Care
April 13, 2023, News Staff — Family physicians can join the AAFP in observing National Minority Health Month by taking advantage of several resources that support this year’s NMHM theme of “Better Health Through Better Understanding.”
AAFP resources that focus on culturally and linguistically appropriate care include CME and toolkits that FPs can put to direct use, as well as advocacy and other efforts to improve the health care system.
CME
Through the Academy’s Health Equity for EveryONE online CME activity, members can complete sessions on embracing the CLAS standards and conducting office visits with a medical interpreter.
Toolkits and Patient Resources
In February, the AAFP launched the Revista Médica AFP podcast, a Spanish-language version of the AFP podcast that features interviews with family physicians, summaries of journal articles and answers to clinical questions from the Family Practice Inquires Network.
Physicians also can share information from the AAFP’s patient-centered website, familydoctor.org, in Spanish by clicking the “Español” button at the top of the page or directly visiting the Spanish-language version of the site.
The EveryONE Project, meanwhile, contains social needs patient action plan forms that help family physicians talk with patients about social determinants of health and address their needs in seven languages.
Story Highlights
Shaping the Health Care Landscape
In recent months, the AAFP has advocated for CLAS-related issues with
- detailed recommendations to CMS on supporting culturally sensitive care and access for patients with limited English proficiency,
- more guidance to CMS on addressing cultural competency and language preferences, and
- recommendations to HHS on ensuring that everyone has meaningful access to health programs and services regardless of language barriers.
This advocacy is rooted in the Academy’s policies on culturally proficient health care, linguistically appropriate health care and legislation related to culturally sensitive interpretive services that the Congress of Delegates adopted in 2018, as well as later work by the COD that supports health literacy and effective, culturally sensitive care for diverse populations.
Other Resources for FPs
The Office of Minority Health’s Think Cultural Health initiative has resources to help family physicians and other health care professionals implement CLAS standards, and plans to offer more throughout April.
The National Indigenous Elder Justice Initiative, in partnership with the Center for Rural Health and the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences, has published several CLAS resources, including “Cultural Sensitivity: Working with Native Americans.” The education module addresses issues such as adverse childhood experiences; social determinants of health; the impact of cultural issues on perceptions of health, illness and health care; evidence-based practice; culturally adapted practices; and shared decision-making. In addition, an advance care plan and guide helps Native Americans make health and end-of-life decisions.
“We chose language and images that would help members of all tribes feel more comfortable while thinking about difficult situations,” Jacque Gray, Ph.D., NIEJI’s former principal investigator and a research associate professor emerita in the Department of Population Health at the University of North Dakota, said in a press release.
The Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network, a collaboration funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, also offers resources on CLAS, as well as on racial equity and cultural diversity.
Health in Her HUE offers women of color culturally appropriate health care resources, including a directory of health care professionals (including more than 30 family physicians), event listings, and health information.
“The reason why Health in Her HUE is particularly important for Black women is because Black women have some of the worst health outcomes,” co-founder Ashlee Wisdom, M.P.H., told Yahoo! Life. “And so because we have some of the worst health outcomes, it’s important for there to be equitable health care solutions that are tailored to the specific needs of Black women.”
More From the AAFP
Members can find more information on CLAS-related topics throughout April on the AAFP’s Minority Health Month webpage. In addition, AAFP President Tochi Iroku-Malize, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., and Board member Sarah Nosal, M.D., share what Minority Health Month means to them in new video interviews.