Cultural Adaptations

We work with you system to address the most common problems found when dealing with the Latino community. These are:

1) Limitations of Outreach

Hospital systems, doctor' offices, mental health agencies, and other community providers struggle to find ways to serve Hispanic families and communities.   Very often, traditional "outreach" methods (brochures, health fairs, PSAs, etc.) and simple language translations are not sufficient to attract clients or retain patients in service.

2) Inadequacies of Cultural Competence Training

"Cultural Competence" training often does not impact the problem, and may not be well received by its intended staff and professional audiences.   Does anyone really enjoy being told they are incompetent? Training individual employees to be culturally competent---without first understanding the nature of the service delivery system, or the processes involved in enrolling, treating, serving, or following a client can be highly ineffective.

3) Changes in Funding and Reimbursement Mechanisms

Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement mechanisms and funding levels are uncertain in this time of economic recession and health reform.   Health, behavioral health, and other community services will be impacted by the changes coming in national health care reform initiatives and/or revisions in state programs and policies.

To prepare, providers need to make sure that barriers to enrollment and retention in third-party and public insurance options are kept at a minimum--particularly for low literacy populations and consumers for whom English is a second language. Many of your consumers will need to be apprised of changes in enrollment procedures, eligibility, coverage, re-certification, etc. Many will be confused by the changes, and will appreciate help with understanding what they must do to obtain care, or maintain their coverage.

The Solution:

The spokesman in the car commercial exclaims, "This is not your father's Oldsmobile." Similarly, Las Obras has taken the lessons learned from historical approaches to outreach for Hispanics, and cultural training, to formulate a new approach.

Actually, there are many solutions in this approach, and the solution for your organization or practice will be based on an onsite assessment by Las Obras program specialists. Your organization has a culture also, and any solution requires that we understand that culture in order to adapt your methods and processes to effectively build bridges to the Hispanic culture(s) present in your service populations.

Much like developing an Individual Service Plan, we will work with your staff, consumers, and stakeholders to:

Examine current services and programs, to assess their penetration in Hispanic markets
Assess the effectiveness of existing outreach, marketing, and public relations efforts relative to Hispanic consumers
Obtain objective feedback on grievances and client complaints
Interview Hispanic consumers, staff, and constituents for their input on adaptation strategies
Outline community issues and conduct an environmental scan relative to serving Hispanics
Identify cultural resources available to your organization (e.g. local churches, Hispanic media, grassroots leadership, gatekeepers, etc.)
Develop a set of recommendations for strategies to adapt your organization's methods for more effective service delivery, outreach, marketing, and improved consumer satisfaction.

Our many years of experience in working with Hispanic programs, community organizations, ethnic leaders, and national minority initiatives will inform our services. Combined with your dedication to serving the underserved, and eliminating disparities in health/social services, the results will be a more effectively targeted outreach, improved service efficiencies, and an enhanced stature among Hispanic consumers.

Please contact us for more information.