Aim and objectives

This review aims to examine available evidence on cultural competence in health care settings to identify key approaches and strategies that can contribute to improving the development and implementation of Indigenous health services and programs. The objectives are to:

1. define cultural competency
–– we consider the significance of cultural competence and how it has been defined in international and local literature, including the use of similar terms and meanings

2. report on the quantity, nature and quality of available evidence
–– we look at available evidence on cultural competency in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States, including how cultural competence has been measured, and assess the quality of the evidence against basic methodological criteria

3. identify approaches and strategies that are effective in improving cultural competency among health services staff

4. examine the relationship between cultural competency and health outcomes

5. develop an evidence-informed conceptual framework of cultural competency.