Research shows that cultural competence education and training enhances knowledge, communication skills, and awareness of biases and health disparities among trainees and health professionals. Medical educators are faced with identifying gaps in cultural competence education and training, designing and evaluating curricula, and assessing progress toward program objectives.
To help educators identify curricular strategies and evaluation tools for re-use or enhancement, the AAMC commissioned an expert panel to review cultural competence studies that measured learner changes in attitudes, knowledge, and skills. This guide, which is based on the panel’s findings, provides these resources for educators and researchers:
- An inventory of the research studies that assess the outcomes of cultural competence education and training. Better health for all is, and should be, at the crux of our efforts.
Cultural Competence Education and Training Assessment Inventory - Four recommended strategies to advance the research and evaluation
- A Cultural Competence Assessment Tool Checklist, along with a guide to using the tool, to help educators and research measure facets of cultural competence in published assessment tools
- An overview of three evaluation approaches for curriculum development and evaluation
This guide is part of a growing collection of resources, in addition to existing AAMC tools and reports, including the Tool for Assessing Cultural Competence Training (TACCT) and the Cultural Competence Education for Students in Medicine and Public Health, that provide a framework for understanding essential competencies and specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes that may guide cultural competence curriculum development.