Qatar’s extremely high-density multicultural setting has made cultural competence education a pressing need in healthcare. The Center for Cultural Competence in Health Care (CCCHC), an integral part of the Institute for Population Health (IPH), was established in 2008 under the leadership of Dr. Javaid Sheikh, Dean of WCM-Q, to meet this need. CCCHC is guided by WCM-Q's tripartite mission and committed to promoting culturally and linguistically appropriate healthcare services in Qatar, to achieve equity and eliminate healthcare disparities. CCCHC is licensed by leading American organizations to provide training to all levels of healthcare professionals in cultural competence, medical interpreter training, and emotional intelligence.
Education
The cultural competence training module is integrated into the curriculum followed by WCM-Q pre-medical and medical students. The sessions include didactic lectures, group discussions, interactive exercises, and videos. The topics include cultural diversity and its implications on healthcare, bias and stereotyping, understanding the perspectives of patients and the community, traditional healing practices, the role of medical interpreters, and contributors to health disparities.
Currently, CCCHC provides two major capacity building programs for healthcare professionals, accredited by the Ministry of Public Health’s Department of Healthcare Professions-Accreditation Section (DHP-AS) and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).
These programs are outlined below: