Enhancing cultural competence in staff dealing with people with drug and alcohol problems.

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Luger, Lisa (2009) Enhancing cultural competence in staff dealing with people with drug and alcohol problems. Doctoral thesis, University of West London.

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Abstract

The need for cultural competence in making services more responsive to the diverse needs of patients has been highlighted by many authors (NCCC, 2004b; Geiger,2001; Philleo and Brisbane, 1997; Ehrmin, 2005). Philleo and Brisbane (1997)argued that at a time of increasing globalisation and international communication,cultural competency is as important as computer literacy. This means that to be considered a competent professional, such as a nurse, drug worker, youth worker or social worker, one needs to take into account the wider cultural context of the person who is coming for help. A cultural dialogue, where the healthcare worker is able to communicate with people from a different cultural group, should be part of professional approach. With regard to the treatment of substance use problems,Philleo and Brisbane (1997) pointed out that a competent professional must know more than the harm alcohol and drugs can do to the body. Substance problems call for cultural solutions and a cultural dialogue, otherwise professionals are unlikely to achieve a change in their patients' behaviour.

The need for better quality services for people from different cultural backgrounds has been recognised in a number of UK government policies, for example the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 (RR(A)A 2000) (The Home Office (HO), 2000). These policies have pressurised organisations into promoting anti-racism and equal opportunities for both service users and staff, and to provide more accessible and culturally competent services.

There has been much debate since the 1980s about how to make services more culturally aware and many training initiatives have been developed. Yet, there has been much confusion abuiot the focus of training such as, what needs to be addressed more: racism, discrimination, equal opportunity or diversity? There has been little discussion on the effectiveness of these training activities. Few have been evaluated to measure their impact, such as change in knowledge, attitude and behaviour of those trained, or their organisation's performance towards clients (Papadopoulos et al., 2004; Bhui et al., 2007). Consequently there is little evidence concerning the success of these educational activities.

This PhD wants to make an original contribution to the debate surrounding cultural competence and educational practice by evaluating the effectiveness of an educational module to enhance the cultural competence of staff dealing with people with drug and alcohol problems. This study also includes an evaluation of the teaching and learning strategy used.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Keywords:	Substance use; Cultural awareness; Professional training
Subjects:	Psychology > Substance abuse/misuse Psychology
Depositing User:	Rod Pow
Date Deposited:	18 Sep 2012 10:21
Last Modified:	28 Aug 2021 07:16
URI:	https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/385