Hospitals & Health Equity: The importance of understanding patients' cultural backgrounds in healthcare

Every person brings their own cultural background into their encounters with the healthcare system.

But this doesn’t mean that every healthcare provider needs to develop an encyclopedic knowledge of every culture in order to provide equitable, high-quality care to every patient.

“The truth of the matter is: that could never be done. I'm Puerto Rican, Latino, and even among Puerto Ricans, there's a great difference in lived experience, exposure to health care and the like,” says Dr. Joseph Betancourt, president of the Commonwealth Fund.

But there will be times when a person’s cultural background affects their ability to access the health care they need. In those cases, Betancourt says it’s important that providers be equipped with the right tools and resources to assess how those cultural factors may come into play.

Health Disparities podcast host Dr. Mary O’Connor speaks with Betancourt about the importance of culturally competent care — what it is, and what it’s not. They also discuss the need for ongoing training to address cultural differences and structural barriers, and share about recent developments in health policy and health care that give them hope.

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