Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

Cultural Competency Training to Improve African Immigrant & Refugee Health

African immigrants and refugees represent four percent of the total population in the United States. In the Washington, D.C. area, African-born individuals represent 11 percent of the total population, making the District one of the largest metropolitan areas for African residence in the United States. Unfortunately, the unique health needs of this population are often missed because Africans are grouped into the larger racial category of African American/black. Statistics indicate that many of the chronic and infectious diseases that disproportionately affect African Americans (e.g., type 2 diabetes, hepatitis B, and HIV/AIDS), are burdensome for African immigrants as well. For example, African immigrants are three times more likely to be infected with hepatitis B virus than Asian immigrants and four times more likely to be infected than European immigrants. Health data on African Americans, which also includes African-born individuals, indicate an 18.7 percent prevalence of type 2 diabetes with an estimated 35 percent diagnosed as pre-diabetic. Many health care providers who work with African immigrants experience challenges when delivering care to this community, including identifying appropriate resources and understanding the cultural needs of their patients. Several policies exist to encourage the culturally competent delivery of health care, including health care reform. Adventist HealthCare's Center for Health Equity and Wellness developed Project BEAT IT! (Becoming Empowered Africans through Improved Treatment of Diabetes, Hepatitis B, and HIV/AIDS) to improve culturally competent communication for health care providers with African-born patients. The project promotes improvements in disease self-management for African immigrant and refugee patients and trains health care providers on delivering culturally appropriate care.