A Self-Assessment of Cultural Competence in Military Mental Health Providers
Abstract
The population of racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. has grown substantially over the last several years. The military is even more racially and ethnically diverse than the general U.S. population. In addition, in this post-9/11 era, military health care providers are increasingly deployed to geographically and culturally diverse regions around the world to support the ongoing global war on terror. It has become clear that to meet the needs of their increasingly diverse patient population, military mental health providers need to be culturally competent. Many professional organizations, including the military, believe in and support cultural competence. Although researchers have been studying cultural competence for decades, research on cultural competency in military providers is nonexistent. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine baseline levels and predictors of cultural competence in active duty military mental health providers. Potential respondents were recruited via e-mail list serves of various professional mental health organization and military treatment facilities. One hundred fourteen (114) active duty psychologists, psychiatrists, and clinical social workers responded to an online web-based assessment that included a cultural competence questionnaire, a questionnaire of socially desirable responding, and various background and demographic questions. The respondent sample was relatively representative of the study population of active duty military mental health workers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 31, 2008
- Accession Number
- AD1013665
Entities
People
- Robert D. Lippy
Organizations
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences