Cultural Competence in Physical Therapy

"Cultural competence" is a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals and enable that system, agency, or those professionals to work effectively in cross-cultural situations.

Achieving cultural competence is a process, not an end point.

The importance of cultural competence in patient care is supported by APTA's Operational Plan on Cultural Competence (.pdf), the vision for the profession and numerous other policies, guidelines, and strategic documents.

• Achieving Cultural Competence
• Cultural Competence and the Vision
• Operational Plan on Cultural Competence (.pdf)
• Policies & Guidelines Related to Cultural Competence and Diversity
• Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

Video

• Video: The Importance of Cultural Competence
• Video: Developing Diversity: Reflecting the World Around Us
• Video: Developing Diversity: Lessons Learned in Education

Articles

• Cultural Comptence and the Changing Patient/Client Population

  PT in Motion: November 2011

• Viewpoints: APTA and the LGBT Community

  PT in Motion: June 2011

• Enriching Care to Patients with Low Income

  PT in Motion: December 2007

Courses

• Online Course: Professionalism Module 4: Cultural Comptence
• Text Course: Developing Cultural Comptence in a Multicultural World

Educator Resources

• Blueprint for Teaching Cultural Competence in Physical Therapy Education (.pdf)

Related Resources

• Cultural Competence Resources From Other Organizations

• Last Updated: 9/12/2013
• Contact: minority@apta.org
• = Members Only