Healthcare Needs of a Diverse Population Introduction and Alignment

• Assess the role of culture and patient choice in the health policy process.
• Evaluate differences in healthcare needs for diverse populations.

Resources

• Textbook: Introduction to Health Policy
• Article: Health Care in the United States: An Evolving System
• Article: Long-Term Care Financing Reform: Lessons from the U.S. and Abroad
• Article: One Size Does Not Fit All: Meeting the Health Care Needs of Diverse Populations
• Article: Undocumented Immigrants and Kidney Transplant: Costs and Controversy
• Article: Six Steps Toward Cultural Competence: How to Meet the Health Care Needs of Immigrants and Refugees
• Article: Happy Birthday to Great Britain’s Increasingly Scandalous National Health Service (NHS)
• Website: U.S. Census Bureau Projections Show a Slower Growing, Older, More Diverse Nation a Half Century from Now
• Video: Sicko (optional)

Background Information

It is important to understand cultural diversity in patient populations.  As a healthcare administrator, it will be your responsibility to ensure your staff is aware of cultural differences and that they are sensitive to those differences.  Patients have a choice of where they receive their health care—facilities and staff that are not culturally sensitive will lose the respect and patronage of patients from different cultural backgrounds.  This assignment will help you assess the role of culture in healthcare and evaluate the differences in the healthcare needs of diverse populations.

Upon completion of this assignment, you should be able to:

In healthcare, it is important to accommodate the needs of diverse populations.  Caring for diverse populations requires knowing the population and understanding their needs.  This begins with being culturally sensitive.  Healthcare leaders need to understand and acknowledge the differences between the various populations they encounter in their clinics or health care settings.  Understanding current healthcare policies and practices in terms of various diverse populations is critical to managing a healthcare facility.