Guidelines for Making Existing Health Education Programs More Culturally Appropriate

Cultural competence may mean the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful health education program. A program that is not culturally competent often lacks the nuances of a specific culture and is not as effective as a culturally sensitive program. Linguistic and ethnic differences, subcultures, and sex and gender roles within the predominant culture need to be taken into consideration. Specific guidelines for making any health education program more culturally competent are presented.