Health news reporting: A conceptual framework of journalistic cultural competence

Cultural competence is crucial in improving health for culturally diverse populations within multicultural contexts, and it is widely recognized as essential for addressing the challenges of cultural diversity in healthcare, education and communication. However, discussions about culture and its associated competencies in journalism remain ambiguously defined. By systematically reviewing scholarship at the intersection of health and journalism, this article proposes a new conceptual framework that integrates enhanced cultural competence into health journalism, recognizing that cultural competence is not a binary state (competent/incompetent) but rather an ongoing journey. This conceptual framework of journalistic cultural competence contributes to the knowledge about health news reporting for populations that use culturally diverse medical practices. Practical implications include the application of this proposed framework to guide the development of educational or training programmes that strengthen the competence of health journalists to effectively engage multicultural medical communities and cover health-related issues that might be culturally sensitive to diverse populations.