Cultural Competence: A Lifelong Journey to Cultural Proficiency

In today’s multicultural society, cultural competence will play an increased role in the physical therapists’ daily routine from the classroom to the clinic. As key phrases will be heard more and more in the health care community: knowledge, awareness, attitude, skills, a text that can take cultural competence learning to the next level is essential.

Cultural Competence: A Lifelong Journey to Cultural Proficiency provides a comprehensive, theoretical and practical approach to increasing knowledge and awareness, improving attitudes, and providing the necessary skills for practicing cultural competence each day.

Dr. Ronnie Leavitt, along with a group of contributors with a range of backgrounds, both in physical therapy and the social sciences, provides an evidence-based text looking to explore practical applications in a wide array of settings. Cultural Competence addresses cultural competence by discussing the special considerations one needs to learn about rather than specific population groups. Also discussed is how different theorists describe cultural competence, as well as methods of measuring cultural competence and government policies regarding cultural competence.

Chapter Topics include:
• Relationship between poverty and health
• Health disparities between populations
• Cross-cultural communications
• Health beliefs and behaviors associated with disability and rehabilitation
• Community-based rehabilitation and how to address cultural competence in developing nations
• Service learning and cultural competence

Cultural Competence: A Lifelong Journey to Cultural Proficiency is the ideal text for physical therapy students and clinicians, occupational therapy students and clinicians, and other rehabilitation professionals looking to begin a journey toward understanding how to take into account a patient’s cultural background in the classroom or clinic.