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Report:Providing Culturally Appropriate Services: Local Health Departments and Community-Based Organizations Working TogetherBy The National Association of County Health Officials (NACHO)
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Report SummaryThis report, from June 1994, describes the work of the Multicultural Health Demonstration Project of the National Association of County Health Officials (NACHO). The project linked health departments with Hispanic and Asian and Pacific Islanders community-based organizations in an effort to improve access to care for these populations. The project solicited participants from 3,000 local health departments; 20 health departments submitted applications, and the project chose three sites for demonstration projects: Hawaii Department of Health, Adult Mental Health Division and Kokua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services; Howard County Health Department and the Foreign-born Information and Referral Network in Maryland, and the San Luis Obispo County Health Agency and Hispanos Unidos de Paso Robles in California. Under the requirements of the project, the health departments had to develop and implement work plans to build collaborative working relationships, plan and implement services for the target populations, participate in monthly conference calls with NACHO, write articles about their experience with the project, develop a leadership workshop for local organizations, and write a case study on building relationships. In exchange for their effort, each health department received $10,000 towards the project. Report RecommendationsAs a result of these findings, the project administrators made several recommendations:
Report EvaluationAs a separate component of the Multicultural Project, staff from the University of North Carolina School of Public Health evaluated the project to assess the efforts of the health departments and the community-based organizations in involving the community in health-related decisions and to make recommendations based on the project's results. Evaluators concluded that in Hawaii, the mental health community functions more as a cohesive unit to the benefit of their clients than before implementation of the project. Similarly, the project in Howard County, Maryland has resulted in increased use of professional, paid interpreters and of bilingual staff and materials. The evaluators also point out that the attitude of the health department changed as a result of the project; they note that interpreters now are viewed in a "collegial light, as partners in health care delivery." Finally, in San Luis Obispo County, California, the project resulted in increased cultural competence and understanding and more frequent use of bilingual staff and materials. The report emphasizes relationship building and open, respectful communication between the groups involved. The project revealed that collaboration requires persistence, structure, nonhierarchical attitudes, and professionalism for a successful partnership. The report concludes that the project met its stated goal of enabling local health departments to address the health care needs of diverse populations.
Demonstration Projects:
Where to get it:National Association of County Health Officials, | ||||||
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| As with the rest of DiversityRx, this section is a work in
progress and we welcome information on other efforts, programs, and reports
that will expand upon the information offered here. Please
let us know if you have other examples to include here. | ||||||
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essentials | models and practices | policy | legal
issues | networking | |||||
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DiversityRx is sponsored by: |
 The National Conference of State Legislatures |
 Resources for Cross Cultural Health Care |
 Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation | |||
