Cultural Competence Education for Health Professionals

This  review  assessed the effects of cultural competence  education  for health professionals. Five studies were included involving 337 health professionals (including general practitioners, primary care teams, and counsellors) and 8400 patients. Three studies were conducted in the USA, one in Canada and one in The Netherlands. At least 3000 patients were from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds and some of the health professional groups were also from CALD backgrounds. The studies differed in how the  education  was provided and which  outcome  measures were used. The  review  findings showed some support for cultural competence  education  for health professionals. These findings are tentative, however, as the quality of the evidence was low and more  data  are needed.