Innovative Educational Activities Using a Model to Improve Cultural Competency among Graduate Students

In the United States, there are inequalities in all aspects of healthcare. The Campinha-Bacote Model of Cultural Competence in the Delivery of Health Care Services was used to design, implement, and evaluate a nutrition counseling graduate class focusing on improving cultural competency. Each assignment and activity addressed one or more constructs of the model. Examples included participation in a simulation to stimulate self-awareness, assessing cultural competence of a health organization to improve knowledge, using respondent driven interview questions to develop skills, and conducting a nutrition assessment of an individual across cultures. Students significantly improved (P<0.001) each aspect of the cultural competency model after completion of the course. The total competence score improved from “culturally aware” (score of 68.7 at pre-) to “culturally competent” (score of 78.7 at post-).