Medical Centers Language Services Case Study
The final project for this course is a case study analysis with recommendations that will evaluate the cultural competence of an organization and the ways it provides services from a population health approach framework. It is important for healthcare organizations to use strategies for improving services to a diverse population in order to provide quality care to all patients.
A population health approach unifies, integrates, and balances prevention and promotion, health protection, diagnosis, treatment, and care. It acknowledges and reflects evidence that factors outside of the healthcare system can significantly affect health. It considers the entire range of individual and collective factors and conditions—and their interactions—that have been shown to be correlated with health status. Commonly referred to as the “determinants of health,” these factors currently include income and social status, social support networks, education, employment/working conditions, social environments, physical environments, personal health practices and coping skills, healthy child development, biology and genetic endowment, health services, gender, and culture. Medical Centers Language Services Case Study
A population health approach focuses on improving the health status of a population, rather than of individuals. Such a focus necessitates reducing disparities, or inequalities in health status among population groups. The outcomes or benefits of a population health approach, therefore, extend beyond improved population health outcomes to include an integrated health system and increased social cohesion and citizen engagement.
The project is divided into three milestones which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Three, Four, and Six. The final project will be submitted in Module Seven. Medical Centers Language Services Case Study
In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
Evaluate health promotion and disease management strategies for their efficacy in addressing factors that determine population health status
Evaluate healthcare organizations’ patient engagement activities and communication strategies for the extent to which they demonstrate cultural competence for improving population health outcomes
Patient engagement activities and communication strategies
Critique the organization’s translation and interpretation services that may be available to non-English-speaking patients. In other words, does the organization provide such services? How many different languages are supported? How might the organization communicate with a speaker of a language that is not supported? Be sure to provide evidence that supports your claims.
Analyze the extent to which educational resources and materials are available in languages other than English. Be sure to provide specific examples.
Assess organizational staff training on patient engagement and communications for its potential to foster cultural competence. Be sure to provide evidence to support your claims.
Identify gaps or deficiencies that may exist in the organization’s patient engagement and communications strategies, and provide evidence to support your claims. If you feel there are none, be sure to explain your reasoning.
Health promotion and disease prevention and management strategies
Assess the organization on its efforts to promote healthy living by examining programs (e.g., fitness classes, blood pressure clinics, first aid training, nutrition education, etc.) that it may offer to patients. Be sure to provide evidence to support your claims.
Assess non-programmatic services (such as transportation, on-site child care, etc.) that may be offered by the organization for their impact on factors that determine population health status.
Describe gaps or deficiencies that may exist in the organization’s use of the population health approach in reducing costs and improving quality of care, and provide evidence to support your claims. If you feel there are none, be sure to explain your reasoning.