NHPCO diversity toolkit offers these ideas for building trust and improving diversity
Spend time in community you want to reach
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) of Alexandria, VA, has developed a diversity toolkit designed to help hospice organizations with their efforts to improve diversity among their patient base.
A preview look at the toolkit, which will be published within the next year, provides these suggestions for how hospice staff can build trust and develop a relationship in a minority or culturally diverse community.
- Recognize that diversity exists.
- Obtain a broader current understanding of diversity.
- Develop a desire to learn about other cultures, races, and religions.
- Listen and learn from those who are different.
- Respect the dignity of the person. Demonstrate respect for people as unique individuals, with their culture, race, or religion as just one factor that contributes to their uniqueness.
- Develop compassion.
- Learn to be present.
- Adhere to ethical principles and practices.
- Become informed—taking better advantage of available diversity resources.
- Don't assume anything.
- Ask and clarify as you seek to understand.
- Do not expect all members of one cultural group or family system to behave the same way.
- Appreciate that each person's cultural, racial, and religious values are deeply ingrained.
- Refrain from making assumptions and generalizations about a group of people.
- Be willing to modify health care delivery in keeping with the patient's cultural, racial, or religious preferences.
- Do not take others' behavior personally. Their reactions to you may have less to do with you than to factors such as your age or gender. (For example, some cultures do not accept females taking care of males).
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