Teaching Advocacy to Physicians in Multicultural Settings

ABSTRACT

Teaching advocacy in medical school and residency is complicated by increasing social diversity. Socioeconomic and cultural differences between advocates and patient communities demand robust communication skills. Cross-cultural communication can be enhanced with specific attitudes, knowledge and skills. Three departments within the University of Cincinnati have developed curricula to teach advocacy while working with underserved populations from a variety of cultures, encouraging learners to use advocacy to promote social change. Five such courses, emphasizing local and/or global health and combining didactic and experiential teaching methods, are described here. Special attention is given to the culture of poverty. These courses build learners’ skill and confidence, and should serve as a foundation for future growth. Long term evaluation is necessary to determine if these curricular innovations result in sustainable improvements in learner competencies related to community health and child advocacy activities.

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