The impact of a cross-cultural care education program on cultural competence of aged care staff

Cultural and linguistic diversity between residents and staff is significant in aged care homes in Australia. Residents are from over 170 countries with 31% born overseas and 20% born in a non–English speaking country (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2016). Staff who care for residents are also from culturally and linguistically (CALD) diverse backgrounds. It is estimated that 32% of staff were born overseas and 26% were born in a non–English speaking country (Mavromaras et al. 2017). The diversity generates demands for education interventions to improve cultural competence for staff in cross-cultural interactions with older people and team members. However, research evidence on the impact of a cross-cultural care education program on staff cultural competence is scarce.

The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that an evidence-based cross-cultural care education program would improve cultural competence for staff in skill-mixed and resource poor care settings in aged care homes. This study was part of a 3-year project conducted between 2015 and 2017 undertaken by a university partnering with two aged care organisations.