STORY

Why Cultural Competence is Key to Better Meeting Patients’ Needs

September 30, 2019
hewett chiu

Cultural competence is “foundational” to health care and “a bedrock for meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse population of patients,” Hewett Chiu, an executive director of a public mental health integration program at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, writes in a recent Health Affairs blog post.

Chiu, who was a 2009 participant in the United Health Foundation’s Diverse Scholars Initiative, credits the program as being key to helping him on his path to change the health care system “at a community level.”

“Through participation in the Diverse Scholars Initiative annual forum, I learned about complex health policy issues at a national level, which helped me to better understand the intricacies of our health care system in the United States and at the local level,” Chiu writes.

Read Chiu’s full post on the Health Affairs Blog to learn more.

References

Hewett Chiu, Cultural Competence Is Key To Meeting Patients' Needs: One Perspective From New York City, Health Affairs Blog, Sept. 19, 2019, https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20190917.271436/full/, Copyright © 2019 Health Affairs by Project HOPE – The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.