2. Jose Luis Calderon, MD, Drew University
and Center for Applied Communications - Cultural Competence
José Luis Calderón, MD of the Drew
University Center for Cross-Cultural Epidemiologic
Studies and the Center for Applied Health Communications
addressed the Summit on the topic of cultural competence
during the dinner session. By skillfully interweaving
research findings, personal and family experiences,
and his work as a clinician, Dr. Calderón
explored the many dimensions of culture and of culturally
competent care.
Dr. Calderón made the point that "culture"
has a variety of dimensions and can be viewed anthropologically
as:
The integrated pattern of human knowledge,
belief and behavior that depends upon man's capacity
for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding
generations.
Or, bibliographically as:
The customary beliefs, social forms, and material
traits of a racial, religious or social group.
He also emphasized that culture should be defined
in terms broader than race, ethnicity, or language.
His examples included culture of the disabled, the
elderly or the displaced and urban drug, and gang
culture. The central thread is that culture implies
commonality.
Dr. Calderón examined the importance of
values and beliefs in influencing health behavior.
He supported the adoption of an ethnomedical model
that incorporates:
- How disease and illness are perceived
- How different cultures align to health care
- The social organization of the health care chosen
- He also spoke to the importance of attention
to general literacy and health literacy, as well
as language, in the development of health education
material in any language.
Dr. Calderón explored the many faces of
racism in institutional settings and its relationship
to the persistence of health disparities. Using
Donnebedian's model of healthcare, Dr. Calderón
described how racism is oftentimes embedded in the
structure and processes of healthcare institutions,
resulting in suboptimal outcomes for patients of
color.
Section 3: Sharing Knowledge, Building Capacity 