Are You Prepared to Provide Culturally Competent Psychosocial Care?
Do you know what is cultural competency is?
The Mega Rule 3 requirement for Trauma-informed care requires that trauma survivors receive culturally competent trauma-informed care.
According to the State Operations Manual, cultural competence is crucial to care practiced in nursing facilities because it allows staff to better communicate with residents of various cultural backgrounds and to provide care that is supportive of the culture and to the resident.
At its core, cultural competence is the awareness of one’s own behaviors, beliefs, and biases.
It is the aspect of being aware of the cultural differences, backgrounds and nationalities of the diverse world we all live in.
Cultural influences impact the thoughts, actions, beliefs, and values of all residents, including how they view health-related choices.
Cultural and Language Differences
Residents with cultural or language differences often have misunderstandings with culturally insensitive caregivers, which can lead to insufficient care plans, lack of compliance with treatment and challenging resident behaviors. For example, residents with certain cultural backgrounds may feel uncomfortable when staff assist with personal or hygiene care such as bathing. This issue can be mitigated by asking the resident about his/her preferences and engaging family members in the care planning.
Before assessing residents train staff on cultural competency and use the facility-wide assessment to target cultural-specific education. For example, if your facility is home to a significant number of Latino residents, educate staff on how age and traumatic events are viewed in the Latino culture and allow time for a discussion, including staff who are also Latino to share their personal perspective.
Culturally competent staff will be able to better understand and communicate with residents, leading to better physical and psychosocial care, resulting in improved resident outcomes.
Trauma-informed Care
Trauma-informed care is not only about who has experienced the trauma and the severity of it, but how each person reacts to the experience of the trauma. An awareness of cultural differences allows us to provide the individual supportive care that our residents deserve.
Federal Regulations require that all facility staff receive trauma- informed care training, effective November 28, 2019. SSDOnlineTrainingBy JodyGiac.com offers an online course for only $10 with discounts available for facility purchase for entire staff.
