As dental hygienists in one of the world’s most diverse nations, we are likely to encounter patients from a myriad of social, economic, spiritual, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds. As the diversity of the United States continues to grow, so too does the importance of providing culturally competent health care that meets the individual needs of each and every one of our patients.
Cultural differences manifest in oral health, from diet and behavior, to beliefs and practices, to care-seeking and use of services. The following are just a few examples of ways in which this creates barriers to care:
Cultural differences can also act as barriers to communication between dental practitioners and patients:
In each case, the patient may feel embarrassed, uncomfortable or otherwise unable to ask for clarification around their treatment.
Cultural barriers such as these result in disparate access to healthcare and poorer health outcomes, particularly in minority and indigenous populations. According to an article in Dimensions of Dental Hygiene:
Cultivating cultural awareness leads to cultural competence, an essential step for addressing these disparities and improving health equity across our patient populations. But what exactly does that mean and how can we implement it in our practice?
Cultural competence can be defined as: "understanding the importance of social and cultural influences on patients' health beliefs and behaviors; considering how these factors interact at multiple levels of the health care delivery system; and devising interventions that take these issues into account to assure quality health care delivery to diverse patient populations.”
There are various ways we can incorporate this in our day-to-day work.
1. Know your demographics.
Get to know the demographics of your practice so that you can tailor your care to your patients’ needs. For example, if you have a large immigrant population, you could make translated forms and oral care guides available to them.
2. Get to know your patients.
Chairside small-talk is an important way of building trust and rapport with your patients. It can also help to subtly clue you in on any health disparities they may face, or any culturally specific beliefs they hold about oral health. However, some providers fear asking questions that might be considered personal, intrusive, or culturally insensitive.
Don’t be afraid to ask your patients to elaborate on their cultural beliefs or practices around oral health, but do be mindful to approach the topic with curiosity rather than judgement. Provided it's relevant to their care and you ask with respect and a genuine desire to learn, many will be willing to have an open dialogue with you.
3. Understand non-verbal communication.
Non-verbal communication varies widely between cultures, so physical gestures can mean very different things depending on the patient’s background. For example:
Being aware of differences such as these can help you to avoid miscommunication with your patient in both directions.
4. Look for signs of low health literacy.
In order to provide ethical, equitable and effective treatment, we must ensure all patients can understand and act upon our advice. Patients may not always be forthcoming about difficulties, so look out for signs that may be related to low health literacy:
5. Use the teach-back method.
The proven teach-back method involves asking the patient to relay information back to you so that you can confirm they understand. You can then fill in any gaps and clarify misinterpretations, repeating the process until the patient fully understands. Finally, you can offer the patient a written account of the clarified information to take away.
This technique can be used any time you relay oral health or hygiene guidance to a patient, but it is particularly effective when communicating with individuals with a low level of health literacy or limited English language comprehension.
6. Use the LEARN method.
The LEARN method is a valuable patient communication tool for promoting understanding, building trust, and improving compliance.
7. Use appropriate and inclusive language.
Create an inclusive and welcoming environment by using appropriate cultural verbiage, both in conversation and in documentation like health histories. This includes:
8. Actively avoid microaggressions.
Microaggressions are small but demeaning actions based on an aspect of a person’s identity. Examples include:
Microaggressions are often unintentional. However, they should be actively avoided as they erode dental practitioner-patient trust, damage communication, and make patients less likely to seek care when needed.
9. Proactively build relationships.
Microaggressions usually arise from stereotypes, which are often reinforced by a lack of contact with the culture or community in question. We can address this in practice by making a proactive effort to learn about, engage and build relationships with the various groups we serve.
Community health outreach is a particularly effective way of achieving this. In one successful initiative, Hispanic caregivers at an early years program were trained to deliver workshops in prenatal and children’s oral health. The intervention was found to improve knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about oral health and care in the community, with the long-term goal of reducing childhood caries.
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