Educating health professionals for cultural competence in emergency situations: A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Aims:The current study is aimed at developing a culturally informed education program to increase cultural competence in emergencies among healthcare students and to examine its effectiveness using a randomized controlled trial.Design: This is a mixed-methods study, which comprises two phases: (a) Development of educational intervention to increase cultural competence, based on a review of published scientific literature and primary data collection from qualitative semistructured interviews with key informants; (b) Implementation and assessment of the intervention effectiveness in increasing cultural competence in health students, using a randomized controlled trial. Methods:The qualitative phase will include semi-structured interviews with 10 key informants. Data will be analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.The assessment of intervention efficacy will be examined by a randomized controlled trial. This phase will include a total of 200 undergraduate health profession students who will be randomized (1:1 ratio) to intervention or non-intervention group. Both study groups will complete pre-and postintervention questionnaires assessing three principles of cultural competence: attitudes, knowledge, and skills. The study is supported by 2-year funding, beginning in September 2018. Discussion:Although the importance of culturally sensitive health services has long been recognized, there is a lack of cultural competence training in the medical education system, especially in the context of emergencies. Incorporating cultural competence education into the curricula offers an appealing strategy to enhance systematic understanding of cultural diversity at the early stages of professional training. Impact: The development of cultural competence training and curricula focusing on situations that may arise during emergencies may play a significant role in minimizing cultural dissonance, improve patient-provider communication, and produce better clinical outcomes. K E Y W O R D S clinical trial, cultural-competence, education, emergency, health, nursing, RCT | 381 SLOBODIN et aL.

Health-Care Services as a Platform for Building Community Resilience among Minority Communities: An Israeli Pilot Study during the COVID-19 Outbreak

“…A cultural interpretation of community resilience suggests that the community’s capacity to deal with changes is highly influenced by cultural attitudes, values, and norms. From this point of view, a culturally sensitive approach to emergencies entails a global and local understanding of culture-related expectations and attitudes [ 84 , 85 ]. For example, research in minority communities in Israel during the first wave of COVID-19 showed that keeping social distancing in large, multi-generational households was almost impossible not only due to inadequate space for quarantining but also because shared values make it culturally unacceptable to avoid physical proximity or to send an ill family member away [ 51 ].…”

The effectiveness of emergency knowledge training of pediatric medical workers based on the knowledge, skills, simulation model: a quasi-experimental study

“…The model was developed by eight emergency medical experts and three nursing experts who specialized in emergency knowledge and skills, teaching methods, scenario simulation, and emergency communication. The training program for the model was designed by two of the authors (YJH and LHZ), based on the available literature in the field [ 20 – 22 ]. After consulting senior experts in pediatric emergency medicine, BLS education, and hospital training management, the draft content of the model was discussed and revised.…”

Educating nursing students for cultural competence in emergencies: a randomized controlled trial

“…Data was collected between October 2019 and January 2020. For full details about the study protocol, please see Slobodin et al [ 46 ].…”