HOW MIGHT DEVELOPING CULTURAL COMPETENCE IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES - Essay Example

Growing cultural diversity in UK involving both healthcare practitioners and clients has however triggered significant desirability for change towards cultural competence within the country’s healthcare system. This paper discusses how developing of cultural competence based on the Papadopoulos et al. may improve mental health care services in UK. Papadopoulos et al. (1998) provides a cultural competence model capable of facilitating effective implementation cultural competence within the UK health care system.

The cultural competence model developed by Papadopoulos et al. (1998) entails five constructs including cultural awareness, knowledge on the clients’ culture, and development of cultural skills, cultural encounters and culture desire. The five constructs are perceived as central to healthcare practitioners’ ability to deliver care within patient’s cultural context. The model recognizes the role of culture in influencing patients’ way of thinking and perception about their health problems.

The cultural competence model is viewed as an ongoing process that involves integration of the five cultural competence constructs to enable health practitioners achieve the ability to deliver health care services within patients’ cultural context (Campinha-Bacote 2002). The model emphasizes on the need for health care practitioners to appreciate cultural diversity in the process of providing care to their patients or clients. Culturally competent services emerge as essential to improve the general health care system through recognition, incorporation, practicing and valuing cultural diversity the delivery of health care services.

The cultural competence model focuses on ensuring quality services for culturally diverse populations, including provision of culturally appropriate interventions. According to Lightburn and Sessions (2005), culture significantly determines whether or when an individual seeks help, the kind of help and from