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Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Resources for assessing the social determinants of health, and actions taken to increase health equity, diversity and inclusion.

What is Cultural Competency & Cultural Humility in Healthcare?

The term "cultural competency" is used for this guide because this is currently the most established term in healthcare and education contexts. However, many prefer the term "cultural humility" because competency implies that there are a set of standards that we can learn which will make us cultural competent in all situations and contexts present and future. On the other hand, cultural humility acknowledges that language and practices are contextual and constantly changing. In addition to learning about other cultures, cultural humility involves a life-long commitment to self-reflection and self-critique about one's own beliefs, biases, and assumptions. 

Unconscious or Implicit Bias: Define, Identify, Mitigate

Implicit bias, also known as implicit prejudice or implicit attitude, is a negative attitude, of which one is not consciously aware, against a specific social group.

Implicit bias is thought to be shaped by experience and based on learned associations between particular qualities and social categories, including race and/or gender. Individuals’ perceptions and behaviors can be influenced by the implicit biases they hold, even if they are unaware they hold such biases. Implicit bias is an aspect of implicit social cognition: the phenomenon that perceptions, attitudes, and stereotypes can operate prior to conscious intention or endorsement. -- definition from the American Psychological Association.

Search Concepts and Strategies

"Bias, Implicit"[MeSH] was introduced as a PubMed MeSH (Medical Subject Heading) term in 2022. (Previously, the term was "Prejudice"[MeSH]).

Cultural Humility is not a MeSH term, but may be searched as keywords or a phrase in quotes "cultural humility." "Cultural Competency"[Mesh] or "Culturally Competent Care"[Mesh] currently suffice as indexing terms for this concept.