Doctor of Nursing Practice Program

• Committee Chair Name & Credentials:
  Michele Martens, DNP, RN
• Committee Member Name & Credentials:
  Shelza Rivas, DNP, WHNP-BC, AGPCNP-BC

DNP Project Abstract

Impact of Cultural Competence Training on Healthcare Professionals’ Knowledge

Purpose
The purpose of this project was to develop, implement, and evaluate the efficacy of an educational training introducing the concept of cultural competence. The aim was to increase healthcare professionals’ knowledge from pre-education survey answers to post-education survey answers.

Methods
This project was a qualitative improvement initiative. An evidence-based educational video was developed and distributed to a convenience sample of clinic staff at a private fertility clinic. Clinic staff were provided access to the educational video via email for one-week. Participants’ knowledge of cultural competence was collected before and after the educational video with a paper-pencil survey that utilized a Likert scale from 1-4 (never to very well). Descriptive statistics were performed to analyze the survey data.

Results
Thirteen (N=13) clinic staff comprised of 12 females (92%) and 1 male (8%) with varying educational backgrounds (38% with a bachelor’s degree, 15% with a master’s degree, 23% with professional degrees, 8% with doctoral degrees, 15% with associates degree or equivalent) completed all three components of the educational training –  engagement with the educational video and completion of both pre-and-post education surveys. Seven (54%) participants reported having prior cultural competency training. Mean scores increased in all six survey questions. Survey question one pertained to participants’ understanding of culturally competent care and had the greatest score increase of 32%. Overall, there was statistically significant improvement (p<0.01) in participants’ self-reported knowledge of cultural competence from pre- to post- education.

Implications for Practice
Based on the results of this project, it was evident an educational video is effective in improving healthcare professionals’ knowledge of cultural competence and results from other projects are in alignment with this finding. Limitations of this project include a small sample size from convenience sampling and risk of response-bias with self-reported data. Healthcare professionals’ engagement with education regarding cultural competence could benefit patient care and clinic culture. Future projects should explore methods of education that would improve healthcare professionals’ knowledge of cultural competence.