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Reframing the Concept of Cultural Competence to Enhance Delivery of Behavioral Health Services to Culturally Diverse Populations

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Foundations of Behavioral Health

Abstract

This chapter presents a practical framework for making behavioral health services and supports accessible and appropriate for culturally diverse populations. It begins with an overview of important concepts, particularly behavioral health disparities and health equity, which have shaped research and practice efforts aimed at ensuring that all people receive the services and supports they need. It follows with an examination of “cultural competence” as a concept and how it has evolved. An implementation-based conceptual model is also presented, which operationalizes cultural competence from an organizational perspective and discusses issues with regard to its implementation in service delivery settings, as well as implications for future research and practice.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Family Studies, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Linda M. Callejas & Mario Hernandez

Authors
  1. Linda M. Callejas
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  2. Mario Hernandez
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Correspondence to Linda M. Callejas .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Family Studies, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Bruce Lubotsky Levin

  2. Behavioral Health Concentration, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Bruce Lubotsky Levin

  3. Research and Education Unit, Shimberg Health Sciences Library, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Ardis Hanson

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Callejas, L.M., Hernandez, M. (2020). Reframing the Concept of Cultural Competence to Enhance Delivery of Behavioral Health Services to Culturally Diverse Populations. In: Levin, B.L., Hanson, A. (eds) Foundations of Behavioral Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18435-3_15

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