Cultural Competence in Older Adult Mental Health Care: A Comprehensive Guide

As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, cultural competence has become a crucial aspect of delivering efficient, quality, and equitable care to an increasingly diverse patient population. By 2050, it’s projected that 35% of patients older than 65 will be from a racial or ethnic minority group, compared to 11% in 1970. This demographic shift highlights the need for mental health practitioners to possess knowledge, sensitivity, and understanding of institutionalized practices and systems that undermine their patients’ health and well-being.

What is Culture?

The term culture is multifaceted, encompassing belief systems, values, religion, race, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, geographic location, educational level, age, occupational risks and exposures, and gender. In the context of mental health care, understanding these diverse factors is essential for delivering culturally sensitive care.

Overcoming Implicit Biases and Miscommunication

The authors of Culture, Heritage, and Diversity in Older Adult Mental Health Care examine mental health care through these lenses, teaching readers about implicit biases and potential miscommunication and offering strategies for overcoming these difficulties. The editor, with extensive experience in overseeing veterans’ mental health services, has assembled a diverse and impressive roster of contributors, each with specific expertise in their assigned subject.

Cultural Competency and the Six Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Core Competencies

The book explores the ways in which cultural competency interacts with the six Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education core competencies, including patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and systems-based practice. For example, cultural competency plays a critical role in gathering subjective data about a patient that may ultimately impact outcomes.

Teaching Methods and Training Modalities

The book highlights teaching methods to increase cultural sensitivity and build skills in this area, as well as training modalities and clinician evaluation. The effects of migration and acculturation on mental health are examined, providing clinicians with several theoretical frameworks for understanding the migratory experience in older adults and exploring psychosocial factors associated with psychological risk in aging immigrants.

Linguistic Competence: A Critical Aspect of Culturally Competent Health Care

Linguistic competence, defined broadly as effective communication with individuals speaking a nondominant language, is an essential component of culturally competent health care. The authors analyze linguistic competency in both administrative and clinical encounters and present strategies for achieving mastery in this critically important area.

A Comprehensive Resource for Clinicians

The text provides an abundance of tables and pedagogical features designed to enhance comprehension, including learning objectives, key points, and study questions. Culture, Heritage, and Diversity in Older Adult Mental Health Care prepares clinicians to provide sensitive, high-quality, culturally competent care to geriatric patients from diverse backgrounds, making it an indispensable resource as patient demographics continue to change.

Publisher: American Psychiatric Association Publishing

Language: English

ISBN: 9781615372058, 9781615372119