Cultural diversity in health care teams: A systematic integrative review and research agenda

Abstract

Background Although team-based work is deemed key to improving the quality of national health care systems, adverse events related to teamwork account for up to one third of all incidents. Health care teams are typically multiprofessional and diverse in many aspects, but cultural diversity is one of the most challenging. Purposes The objective of this review is to systematically analyze the literature to better understand the impact of cultural diversity in health care teams on team processes as well as team and patient outcomes. This study also explores the conditions that enable or hinder team functioning. Methodology Through a systematic integrative literature review, this study builds on the input–process–output–context framework. Multiple searches of the main databases led to identifying 43 relevant articles. Findings The results suggest that, when not proactively managed, cultural diversity may have a negative effect on team communication and integration, increasing team conflict and thereby negatively influencing team performance, team climate, and patient safety, both directly and indirectly. Yet, when managed properly and in the presence of engaged and culturally sensitive leadership, cultural training, and open and transparent procedures, cultural diversity in health care teams can be an asset to health care organizations. Analyzing and aggregating these findings into an integrative framework, our study identifies several themes and a research agenda for future studies on culturally diverse health care teams. Practice Implications Our findings suggest that culturally diverse health care teams experience a number of challenges, pointing to the need for action or structures that enable these teams to perform better, such as emphasizing learning and allowing team members time to get to know each other outside work.