OHANA: Optimizing Cross-Cultural Care
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- This is an observational study: the protocol does not assign a study treatment.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Cultural Competence. Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Italy
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
OHANA Project: Optimizing Health Care Through Alignment and Care Across Cultures
Overview
Increasing globalisation and international migration have led to greater cultural diversity in Western societies, including healthcare settings. Hospitals and healthcare environments have become meeting places for individuals from different cultural backgrounds. This diversity presents significant opportunities for improving healthcare, but also introduces complex challenges related to communication, trust and mutual understanding between healthcare professionals and patients. In this context, the concept of culturally competent care, i.e. the ability of healthcare professionals to provide respectful and appropriate care to patients by taking into account their cultural beliefs, values and practices, emerges as a crucial approach to address the specific needs of patients from different cultures. The concept of cultural competence was first introduced by Cross, who defines it as a set of behaviours, attitudes and policies that, when integrated into an organisation or among professionals, enable them to operate effectively in intercultural contexts.
Detailed description
Although there is preliminary evidence on the benefits of cultural concordance, the literature is still scarce and fragmented. In particular, there is a lack of in-depth studies on the subjective experiences of the main actors involved. For healthcare professionals, cultural concordance could be a valuable resource, but also a source of additional stress or pressure, especially if perceived as a task requiring cultural or linguistic competence that is not always adequately supported. For patients, the experience of being cared for by a professional from the same culture might enhance a sense of trust and comfort, but also generate unrealistic expectations or influence perceptions of quality of care. Exploring the lived experiences of healthcare professionals and patients in a context of cultural concordance is essential to understanding perceived benefits, criticisms and areas for improvement. This multicentre study, coordinated by the Gemelli Hospital in Italy in collaboration with several Italian hospitals , aims to explore cultural concordance in a variety of healthcare settings, providing an in-depth understanding of the potentials and criticisms of cultural concordance in hospital settings
Primary outcome measures
- Health workers' perceived utility of the cultural concordance system [Time frame: 12 months]
- Socio-demographic characteristics of health workers [Time frame: 12 months]
Secondary outcome measures (5)
- Patients' perceptions of the cultural sensitivity of care received [Time frame: 24 months]
- Socio-demographic characteristics of patients [Time frame: 24 months]
- Barriers to implementation of the cultural concordance system [Time frame: 24 months]
- Facilitators to implementation of the cultural concordance system [Time frame: 24 months]
- Development of evidence-based recommendations to improve cultural concordance [Time frame: 24 months]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- All nurses or caregivers involved in the concordance system cultural will be included, with direct experience in caring for foreign patients
- All foreign patients admitted to hospital who speak a language other than the main language of the host country and who have been involved in the concordance system cultural will be included
Exclusion criteria
- All patients with severe cognitive conditions that prevent participation and nurses or caregivers who do not work closely with assigned patients will be excluded.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Study design
- Observational model
- Case-crossover
Study locations
Italy · 1 center
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS — Rome
Identifiers
NCT: NCT06944678 · Project OHANA - ID 7512