Cultural Competency
"I do not know if Lia would be able to walk and talk today had she been treated by Arthur Kleinman instead of Neil Ernst and Peggy Philp. However, I have come to believe that her life was ruined not by septic shock or noncompliant parents but by cross-cultural misunderstanding"
Fadiman 1997: 262.
Fadiman 1997: 262.
Cultural competency can be defined as a set of attitudes, skills, behaviors, attitudes, practices and policies that allow organizations and staff to work effectively in cross-cultural situations. An organization that is culturally competent acquires and implements the knowledge of health beliefs to improve services, strengthen programs, increase community participation and close the gaps in health status among diverse population groups (Joralemon 2010: 96).
When cultural competency is not factored into the relationship between doctors and patients there is a failure to communicate across a cultural divide (Joralemon 2010: 96)
In the aftermath of the Lia Lee tragedy, the Merced County Medical Center, now named Mercy Medical Center of Merced, implemented a new program to improve cultural competency among the Hmong population. The program includes a certified shaman training program that permits shamans that have undergone some training in Western medical practices to perform simplified soul-calling ceremonies in the hospital room as long as it is done quietly and does not involve animal sacrifice(Brown 2009).