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Increasing Service Parity Through Organizational Cultural Competence

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Creating Infrastructures for Latino Mental Health

Abstract

US Latinos’ limited access to existing services leads to lower service use which, in turn, leads to increased impairment as a result of behavioral health conditions. Although discussions of cultural-responsiveness efforts to address this limited access most often focus on specific practices or on the characteristics of service providers, the long-term success of efforts to incorporate culturally responsive interventionists and practices into service settings depends on broader organizational changes. This chapter introduces Hernandez et al.’s (2009) organizational cultural-competence framework, and expands upon this framework by introducing evaluation and assessment approaches that might be used to guide its implementation and by providing examples from the recent literature that illustrate its application in various Latino communities. By doing so, this chapter provides a road map for efforts to bring about organizational cultural competence.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Michigan University, MI, USA

    I. David Acevedo-Polakovich, Elizabeth A. Crider, Veronica A. Kassab & James I. Gerhart

Authors
  1. I. David Acevedo-Polakovich
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  2. Elizabeth A. Crider
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  3. Veronica A. Kassab
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  4. James I. Gerhart
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to I. David Acevedo-Polakovich .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Kinesiology & Community Health, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, S. Fourth St. 1206, Champaign, 61820, Illinois, USA

    Lydia P. Buki

  2. School of Social Work, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, W. Nevada St. 1010, Urbana, 61801, Illinois, USA

    Lissette M. Piedra

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Acevedo-Polakovich, I., Crider, E.A., Kassab, V.A., Gerhart, J.I. (2011). Increasing Service Parity Through Organizational Cultural Competence. In: Buki, L., Piedra, L. (eds) Creating Infrastructures for Latino Mental Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9452-3_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9452-3_4

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