Posted: May 5th, 2020

Nurses are using the National CLAS Standards

The National CLAS Standards are intended to advance health equity, improve quality, and help eliminate health care disparities by establishing a blueprint for health and health care organizations to:
Principal Standard
Provide effective, equitable, understandable, and respectful quality care and services that are responsive to diverse cultural health beliefs and practices, preferred languages, health literacy, and other communication needs.
Governance, Leadership and Workforce
Advance and sustain organizational governance and leadership that promotes CLAS and health equity through policy, practices, and allocated resources.
Recruit, promote, and support a culturally and linguistically diverse governance, leadership, and workforce that are responsive to the population in the service area.
Educate and train governance, leadership, and workforce in culturally and linguistically appropriate policies and practices on an ongoing basis.
Communication and Language Assistance
Offer language assistance to individuals who have limited English proficiency and/or other communication needs, at no cost to them, to facilitate timely access to all health care and services.
Inform all individuals of the availability of language assistance services clearly and in their preferred language, verbally and in writing.
Ensure the competence of individuals providing language assistance, recognizing that the use of untrained individuals and/or minors as interpreters should be avoided.
Provide easy-to-understand print and multimedia materials and signage in the languages commonly used by the populations in the service area.
Engagement, Continuous Improvement, and Accountability
Establish culturally and linguistically appropriate goals, policies, and management accountability, and infuse them throughout the organization’s planning and operations.
Conduct ongoing assessments of the organization’s CLAS-related activities and integrate CLAS-related measures into measurement and continuous quality improvement activities.
Collect and maintain accurate and reliable demographic data to monitor and evaluate the impact of CLAS on health equity and outcomes and to inform service delivery.
Conduct regular assessments of community health assets and needs and use the results to plan and implement services that respond to the cultural and linguistic diversity of populations in the service area.
Partner with the community to design, implement, and evaluate policies, practices, and services to ensure cultural and linguistic appropriateness.
Create conflict and grievance resolution processes that are culturally and linguistically appropriate to identify, prevent, and resolve conflicts or complaints.
Communicate the organization’s progress in implementing and sustaining CLAS to all stakeholders, constituents, and the general public.The National CLAS Standards are intended to advance health equity, improve quality, and help eliminate health care disparities by establishing a blueprint for health and health care organizations to:
Principal Standard
Provide effective, equitable, understandable, and respectful quality care and services that are responsive to diverse cultural health beliefs and practices, preferred languages, health literacy, and other communication needs.
Governance, Leadership and Workforce
Advance and sustain organizational governance and leadership that promotes CLAS and health equity through policy, practices, and allocated resources.
Recruit, promote, and support a culturally and linguistically diverse governance, leadership, and workforce that are responsive to the population in the service area.
Educate and train governance, leadership, and workforce in culturally and linguistically appropriate policies and practices on an ongoing basis.
Communication and Language Assistance
Offer language assistance to individuals who have limited English proficiency and/or other communication needs, at no cost to them, to facilitate timely access to all health care and services.
Inform all individuals of the availability of language assistance services clearly and in their preferred language, verbally and in writing.
Ensure the competence of individuals providing language assistance, recognizing that the use of untrained individuals and/or minors as interpreters should be avoided.
Provide easy-to-understand print and multimedia materials and signage in the languages commonly used by the populations in the service area.
Engagement, Continuous Improvement, and Accountability
Establish culturally and linguistically appropriate goals, policies, and management accountability, and infuse them throughout the organization’s planning and operations.
Conduct ongoing assessments of the organization’s CLAS-related activities and integrate CLAS-related measures into measurement and continuous quality improvement activities.
Collect and maintain accurate and reliable demographic data to monitor and evaluate the impact of CLAS on health equity and outcomes and to inform service delivery.
Conduct regular assessments of community health assets and needs and use the results to plan and implement services that respond to the cultural and linguistic diversity of populations in the service area.
Partner with the community to design, implement, and evaluate policies, practices, and services to ensure cultural and linguistic appropriateness.
Create conflict and grievance resolution processes that are culturally and linguistically appropriate to identify, prevent, and resolve conflicts or complaints.
Communicate the organization’s progress in implementing and sustaining CLAS to all stakeholders, constituents, and the general public.
READ ABOVE ARTICLE THEN ANSWER THE THREE QUESTIONS BELOW:
1)In what ways are you and your peers using these standards in your areas of nursing practice?
2)Discuss one nursing action you might incorporate to improve cultural competence in your organization.In what ways are you and your peers using these standards in your areas of nursing practice?
3)Discuss one nursing action you might incorporate to improve cultural competence in your organization.

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Nurses are using the National CLAS Standards to provide patient-centered care that is respectful and responsive to the cultural and linguistic diversity of the patient population. They are incorporating cultural competency training into their practice, using interpreter services when needed, and developing culturally appropriate patient education materials.

One nursing action that can improve cultural competence in an organization is to conduct a cultural assessment of the patient population served. This can be done by collecting demographic data, surveying patients on their cultural beliefs and practices, and observing cultural practices in the community. This information can be used to develop culturally appropriate policies and practices, such as hiring a diverse workforce that reflects the patient population, providing interpreter services, and offering culturally appropriate patient education materials.

Another nursing action that can improve cultural competence is to provide ongoing cultural competency training for staff. This can include topics such as communication skills, cultural humility, and understanding of health beliefs and practices of different cultural groups. Training can be offered through workshops, webinars, or online courses and should be mandatory for all staff. In addition, staff should be encouraged to participate in cultural immersion experiences, such as attending cultural events or visiting cultural centers, to increase their understanding and appreciation of different cultures.

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