Peer Insights | Appreciating Patient Diversity and Respecting Cultural Differences

Peer Insights | Appreciating Patient Diversity and Respecting Cultural Differences

How can diversity be appreciated by healthcare providers? PEN’s Aicha Diallo discusses diversity, how to recognize cultural values and unique backgrounds, and the benefits of appreciating diversity.

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Transcript:

Dr. Nicole Rochester:

Appreciating diversity means many things to many people. As healthcare providers, it’s important to navigate complex cultural landscapes and also learn how to foster genuine connections across differences. Well, Patient Empowerment Network’s Vice President of Programs, Aicha Diallo, is joining me to look at the power of valuing diversity in our patients and their families. Aicha, how can we as healthcare providers appreciate the unique differences among our patients, and how does this enrich healthcare?

Aïcha Diallo:

The ways to appreciate the uniqueness of your patients can include a lot of different strategies, but I would really focus on putting the patient at the center of everything you do. It’s important to also recognize and celebrate their cultural values and the uniqueness of their backgrounds. Do practice cultural humility, which means listen more, make less assumptions, focus on what your patients and their families are sharing with you, ask them questions that will allow you to get a better understanding of who they are and what their needs are. Also show respect and see your patients as people. And this is shown to really help in terms of improving healthcare outcomes for everyone, especially patients who are in underrepresented communities. And this very much helps in terms of further decreasing health disparities.

Dr. Nicole Rochester:

Well, thank you so much, Aicha Diallo, Vice President of Programs at Patient Empowerment Network. We appreciate your wisdom. 


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