Cross-cultural training program on mental health care for refugees - a mixed method evaluation

A national mental health cascade training programme for practitioners supporting unaccompanied minors in Greece

BACKGROUND

Practitioners who support unaccompanied minors (UAMs) come from different professional backgrounds and often are not appropriately trained to address children's complex mental health needs. This gap informed a training programme across all accommodation centres in Greece.

METHODS

The aim of the Train-of-Trainer (ToT) national programme was to upskill trainers from 17 organisations to cascade knowledge. Training was interprofessional, trauma-informed and culturally sensitive. A pilot implementation involved 199 practitioners from all disciplines. A sub-sample of 33 practitioners, nine managers and six trainers shared their experiences in focus group discussions, which were analysed through a thematic framework.

RESULTS

Participants found that the programme was useful in generating knowledge relevant to children's needs and their roles, addressing the emotional impact of trauma on staff, sharing learning across professional disciplines and being interactive, but systemic support should be put in place for benefits to be sustained.

CONCLUSIONS

Train-of-Trainer is a resource-effective approach to upskill mixed staff groups across many organisations. This should involve caregivers and staff with limited educational opportunities, while accommodating for different professional needs. Training should be integrated to service budgets, specifications and structures.

Cultural Competence Interventions in European Healthcare: A Scoping Review

Europe is undergoing rapid social change and is distinguished by its cultural superdiversity. Healthcare is facing an increasing need for professionals to adapt to this environment. Thus, the promotion of cultural competence in healthcare has become a priority. However, the training being developed and their suitability for the European context are not well known. The aim of this qualitative study has been to map the scientific literature in order to comprehend the current state of research on this topic. For this purpose, we conducted a systematic scoping review of the empirical publications focused on cultural competence interventions for healthcare professionals in European countries. The search was conducted in eight thematic (PsycINFO, MedLine, and PubPsych) and multidisciplinary databases (Academic Search Ultimate, E-Journals, Scopus, ProQuest, and Web of Science) to identify relevant publications up to 2023. Results were presented qualitatively. Out of the initial 6506 records screened, a total of 63 publications were included. Although the interventions were implemented in 23 different European countries, cultural competence interventions have not been widely adopted in Europe. Significant heterogeneity was observed in the conception and operacionalización of cultural competence models and in the implementation of the interventions. The interventions have mostly aimed at improving healthcare for minority population groups and have focused on the racial and ethnic dimensions of the individual. Future research is needed to contribute to the conceptual development of cultural competence to design programs tailored to European superdiversity. This scoping review has been registered in OSF and is available for consultation.

Methods of increasing cultural competence in nurses working in clinical practice: A scoping review of literature 2011–2021

Aim

Training for the development of cultural competence is often not part of the professional training of nurses within the European Economic Area. Demographic changes in society and the cultural diversity of patients require nurses and other medical staff to provide the highest quality healthcare to patients from different cultural backgrounds. Therefore, nurses must acquire the necessary cultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes as part of their training and professional development to provide culturally competent care to achieve this objective.

Objective

This review aims to summarize existing methods of developing cultural competence in nurses working in clinical practice.

Design

A scoping review of the literature.

Method

The following databases were used: PubMed, ScienceDirect, ERIH Plus, and Web of Science using keywords; study dates were from 2011 to 2021.

Results

The analysis included six studies that met the selection criteria. The studies were categorized as face-to-face, simulations, and online education learning methods.

Conclusion

Educational training for cultural competence is necessary for today’s nursing. The training content should include real examples from practice, additional time for self-study using modules, and an assessment of personal attitudes toward cultural differences.