Cultural Competency

The ability to understand, appreciate and interact effectively with people of different cultures and/or beliefs to ensure the needs of the individuals are met. The ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures, helps to ensure the needs of all community members are addressed. It also refers to such characteristics as age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, income level, education, geographical location, or profession. Cultural competency means to be respectful and responsive to the health beliefs and practices and cultural and linguistic needs of diverse populations groups.