Perceptions of health system orientation: quality, patient centeredness, and cultural competency.
As part of a pragmatic trial to reduce hypertension disparities, we conducted a baseline organizational assessment to identify aspects of organizational functioning that could affect the success of our interventions. Through qualitative interviewing and the administration of two surveys, we gathered data about health care personnel's perceptions of their organization's orientations toward quality, patient centeredness, and cultural competency. We found that personnel perceived strong orientations toward quality and patient centeredness. The prevalence of these attitudes was significantly higher for these areas than for cultural competency and varied by occupational role and race. Larger percentages of survey respondents perceived barriers to addressing disparities than barriers to improving safety and quality. Health care managers and policy makers should consider how we have built strong quality orientations and apply those lessons to cultural competency.
University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA bcunning@umn.edu.
Brooke A
BA
Cunningham
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Jill A
JA
Marsteller
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Max J
MJ
Romano
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Kathryn A
KA
Carson
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.
Gary J
GJ
Noronha
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA Johns Hopkins Community Physicians, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Maura J
MJ
McGuire
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Airong
A
Yu
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Lisa A
LA
Cooper
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D054521:Cultural Competency; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006270:Health Facility Administrators / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D015279:Organizational Culture; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
cultural competency; health care disparities; organizational culture; patient-centered care; primary health care; quality of healthcare