Developing a curriculum designed to overcome intolerance: A conceptual approach

The paper examines the theoretical foundation of intolerance and explores potential topics for a curriculum designed to overcome intolerance. Previous research has shown that a negative self-image and low self-esteem seem to foster intolerance. Likewise, individuals with low levels of self-awareness tend to be more willing to express intolerance while paying less attention to the impression their behaviour and communication has among others. Individuals with a negative self-image and low self-esteem often resist change and tend to look for information that confirms and reinforces their existing viewpoints while ignoring information that contradicts their viewpoints. The research of Kruger and Dunning (1999), though, suggests that instruction in metacognition can overcome these negative characteristics. Especially if metacognitive training is coupled with multicultural education, cultural diversity training, and foreign language instruction as other research has revealed.

Perceived discrimination against immigrants in the workplace

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how perceptions of organizational justice and social-focussed personal values influence perceived discrimination against immigrants in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 224 employees of a mental health clinic in Norway completed Schwartz’s Portrait Values Questionnaire that measures personal values, Colquitt’s Organizational Justice Scale, and scale measuring perceived discrimination against immigrant in the workplace. Findings – Perceived organizational justice and the social-focussed value universalism contributed significantly in explaining variance in perceived discrimination against immigrants in the workplace. Employees who scored low on perceived organizational justice scored high on perceived discrimination against immigrants, and employees who scored high on the value universalism scored high on perceived discrimination against immigrants in the workplace. Research limitations/implications – The cross-sectional design cannot determine causality. The direction of the relationship between the variables is founded on prevailing empirical and theoretical contributions in the field. Practical implications – Cultural diversity training programs should make employees aware of how their personal values and personal justice experiences influence their perceptions of discrimination against immigrants. Culturally diverse workplaces could benefit from recruiting employees who emphasize universalism. Originality/value – Co-workers’ perception of exclusion and discriminating behavior against immigrants in the workplace is critical in order to reduce such unjust treatment. There is limited research on factors that influence perceptions of discrimination against others.

ReCAP: Assessing Cultural Competence Among Oncology Surgeons

QUESTION ASKED: Are there attributes of surgical providers that are associated with culturally congruent care? SUMMARY ANSWER: Surgical providers reported treating diverse patient populations; 71% encountered patients from six or more racial/ethnic groups. More than half (58%) reported completing cultural diversity training, with employer-sponsored training the most common type reported (48%; 71 of 147). Cultural Competence Assessment scores ranged from 5.99 to 13.75 of a possible 14 (mean = 10.3; standard deviation ± 1.3), and receipt of diversity training was associated with higher scores than nonreceipt (10.56 v 9.82, respectively; P < .001). METHODS: Surgical providers from six hospitals in the Puget Sound region of Washington State were invited to participate. Participants completed a 50-item survey that assessed demographic data and incorporated the Cultural Competence Assessment and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Survey response rate was 51.1% (n = 253). BIAS, CONFOUNDING FACTORS(S), DRAWBACKS: Our study has several limitations. Although our survey response rate of 51% was better than that of most physician surveys reported in the literature, we acknowledge that our data cannot represent the experience of all surgeons in the United States who care for racial/ethnic minority patients, as our survey was limited to surgeons practicing in the Puget Sound region. Our survey items on the racial/ethnic and special population diversity encountered by providers were limited to experiences in the past 12 months. We might have obtained a more accurate description of providers’ experience by using a more detailed quantitative measure, but we elected not to use this approach in order to limit respondent burden and thereby improve response rates. This study only surveyed surgical providers, which represents only a snapshot of the cancer care continuum. Future research should include medical oncology providers and others oncology providers to provide a more complete picture of cultural competency across the cancer care continuum. REAL-LIFE IMPLICATIONS: Culturally competent care is an essential but often overlooked component of high-quality health care. In our study sample, most surgical providers who treated racially and ethnically diverse patients perceived that they had a high level of cultural awareness, and their perceived and measured cultural awareness were highly correlated in our analyses. As US demographics become increasingly diverse, these data provide encouraging evidence that surgical providers are generally culturally sensitive and culturally aware, and perhaps more important, that they place a high value on cultural awareness. Our results also demonstrate that exposure to cultural diversity training was the single most important contributor to culturally congruent care, indicating a substantial need to continue existing diversity training interventions. Future work should compare training offered by various hospital systems. [Table: see text]