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Developing a Self-Assessment Toolfor Culturally - Office of Minority ...

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTIONThis report presents the results <strong>of</strong> the project <strong>Developing</strong> a <strong>Self</strong>-<strong>Assessment</strong> Tool for<strong>Culturally</strong> and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Local Public Health Agencies,sponsored by the U.S. Department <strong>of</strong> Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) <strong>Office</strong> <strong>of</strong><strong>Minority</strong> Health (OMH). The project’s objective was to construct an organizational selfassessmenttool for Local Public Health Agencies (LPHAs) that <strong>of</strong>fers sound measures <strong>of</strong>culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS). In this project, the term LPHA isdefined as a publicly funded entity (i.e., local health department, local board <strong>of</strong> health, andother local government organization) responsible for providing essential public healthservices within a specific jurisdiction. 1 In addition, CLAS are defined as health careservices that are respectful <strong>of</strong>, and responsive to, the specific needs and preferences <strong>of</strong>racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse populations (OMH 2001). Theself-assessment tool and corresponding data collection protocols generated by the projectwere developed around a conceptual framework <strong>of</strong> CLAS conceived in a recent OMHsponsoredstudy which produced a similar tool for collecting data from private-sectorhealth care entities—the National Study <strong>of</strong> <strong>Culturally</strong> and Linguistically AppropriateServices in Managed Care Organizations (OMH 2003b). 2The U.S. public health care system continues to be challenged by rapid and significantchanges in the structure <strong>of</strong> health care delivery as well as by the increasing cultural andlinguistic diversity <strong>of</strong> the populations served (Anderson et al. 2003). Various organizationsand political and economic realities are transforming public health’s traditional corefunctions. For instance, market-driven health care is forcing public health to clarify andstrengthen its public role in a now predominantly private system (Institute <strong>of</strong> MedicineIOM 1996). Projections from the 2000 Census indicate that racial and ethnic minoritieswill comprise nearly 50 percent <strong>of</strong> the U.S. population by 2050 (U.S. Bureau <strong>of</strong> the Census2001). Also, residents <strong>of</strong> the U.S. speak an estimated 329 languages, and 32 million speaka language other than English at home (Smith and Gonzalez 2000). Given this trend, theprovision <strong>of</strong> CLAS by LPHAs will continue to be <strong>of</strong> increasing importance because <strong>of</strong> thehigh proportion <strong>of</strong> racial and ethnic minorities served by LPHAs, the wide range <strong>of</strong>services they provide, and the critical role they play as safety net providers to the country’scommunities.1 The term LPHA was defined by the project’s expert panel to help differentiate it from a local healthdepartment (LHD), which does not fully capture all local, publicly funded organizations responsible forproviding essential public health services.2 While the original intent <strong>of</strong> the LPHAs project was to mirror the CLAS in MCOs study by developingand administering the tool to a representative sample <strong>of</strong> LPHAs, the project objectives and timeline weremodified due to shifts in departmental priorities.COSMOS Corporation, December 2003 1-1

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