Degree Name
Nursing Practice, DNP
Publication Date
4-25-2026
First Advisor
Sandy King
Second Advisor
Paige Wimberley
Abstract
Limited culturally competent care for Hispanic patients worsens existing health disparities, creates misunderstandings, leads to poor health outcomes, and reduces satisfaction with the quality of care. In an outpatient clinic, more than 70% of patients are Hispanic, yet healthcare providers reported a lack of confidence in caring for culturally diverse patients. Extensive literature supports staff training to improve provider cultural competence, but implementation remains inconsistent across healthcare settings. This quality improvement project addressed this gap by implementing a targeted staff training program grounded in the Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Nursing framework. The purpose of this project was to assess the effectiveness of a targeted staff educational program on provider cultural competence. The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle guided the project, Lewin’s change theory supported implementation, and Leininger’s culture care theory informed concepts of culturally competent care. A pre-/post design was used with 20 healthcare providers. The Cultural Competence Assessment Instrument (CCAI) was used to collect data. Results indicated a statistically significant improvement in CCAI scores following staff training (t (19) = -7.91, p < .001). Participants reported improved confidence in delivering culturally competent care. Limitations included the small sample size, purposive sampling, and the exclusion of non-medical staff. The project shows that targeted staff training guided by the CLAS framework effectively improves provider confidence in cultural competency. These findings support the adoption of an ongoing staff training program to improve nursing practice and eliminate health inequalities affecting Hispanic patients.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Akinkugbe, Oyindamola, "Improving Cultural Competence Among Healthcare Professionals Through a Targeted Staff Training Program" (2026). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 333.
https://arch.astate.edu/dnp-projects/333
