Cultural Competency
Behaviors, attitudes and policies that are respectful of and responsive to cultures and communities, in order to enhance their health and wellness and effectively engage community members in their own care.
A set of cultural behaviors and attitudes integrated into the practice methods of a system, agency, or its professionals, that enables them to work effectively in cross cultural situations.
Diversity
The fact or quality of being different. Variety
Multicultural
Of, relating to, or including several cultures.
Of or relating to a social or educational theory that encourages interest in many cultures within a society rather than in only a mainstream culture.
Disparity
Markedly distinct in quality or character. Differences
Equality
The quality of sameness. Identical treatment in dealings, quantities or values. Not that people become the same; only that access to opportunities and life changes is neither dependent on, nor constrained by, who they are.
Equity
The process of being fair. To ensure fairness, strategies and measures must be available to compensate for historical and social disadvantages that prevent individuals from operating on a level playing field.
Freedom from bias or favoritism.
Health Equity
Equity refers to fairness, or the equality of outcomes, and involves changing aspects of the system that have disadvantaged particular groups.
The absence of systematic disadvantage to individuals and communities in health outcomes, access to health care, and quality of health care regardless of ones diversity.
Health equity implies that there are no differences in health services where health needs are equal or that enhanced health services are provided where greater health needs are present.
Community Engagement:
An exchange of information, ideas and resources between individuals, community members and mainstream organizations or institutions. A key principle of community engagement is participation.
Community Building:
Brings people together to form relationships, often in small group settings. It is often an element in planning or visioning activities.
Community Empowerment.A multi-dimensional process that helps people gain control over their own lives. There are many who believe a community cannot become empowered by others, they must build their power themselves.
Community Development
The development of buildings and infrastructure rather than on people.
Community Organizing:
Bringing together the talents, resources and skills of the people who have the problem to lead the solution. Community organizing builds leaders and creates possibility through collective power. It is a social change strategy.
Comprehensive Community Initiatives:
Integration community building, community development and community organizing in a long term, holistic approach to address a broad problem area.
Participatory Based Action Research:
A family of methodologies that can be used to pursue research objectives (knowledge, understanding) with the meaningful involvement of community members (stakeholders) and an ultimate focus on social action leading to improvements in social conditions.
