Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2021

Abstract

Background: Cultural competence is a term that encompasses one’s capacity for understanding, communication, and effective interactions with individuals across the cultural spectrum. Recognition of these principles and practical training focused on relevant skills and abilities are needed to prevent discriminatory practices based on patient age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, race, religion, gender identification, and sexual orientation. A culturally competent physical therapist will be able to use these skills and abilities to promote effective communication with all patients and remove barriers to obtaining appropriate health care.

Methods: Toward this end, this study includes a review of the recent literature and focuses on interventions used to promote cultural diversity and cultural competence in the practice of physical therapy.

Conclusion: Although the study designs and outcomes were varied and complex, the findings highlight several validated tools that can be used to evaluate the impact of critical interventions. Future primary studies and reviews must be explicit concerning their working definition of cultural competency and might focus on quantitative evaluations of physical therapy students and practitioners' interventions.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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