The role of cultural competence in health care to improve communication between immigrant patients and health-care providers in Ottawa, Canada

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Purpose Cultural competence has been recognized as an essential process in reducing racial and ethnic health-care disparities and improving equity in health care. Recent immigrants to Canada encounter a different and unfamiliar health-care system. This study aims to focus on examining the role of cultural competence in improving communication between immigrant patients and their health-care providers. Design/methodology/approach Using an exploratory approach, four focus group discussions with a sample of recent immigrants were conducted to gain insights from immigrant patients’ perspectives with regard to communicating with their health-care providers. The focus group discussions were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Campinha-Bacote’s Cultural Competence Model was used for this study as its theoretical framework. Findings The focus group findings revealed that the lack of cultural competence among health-care providers and language barriers are major issues that impact the health-care experiences of immigrant patients. Health-care organizations may use these findings to better inform their decision-making with regard to effective patient–provider communication. Originality/value This study advances the line of research that examines patient–provider communication by adding diverse immigrant patients’ perspectives. The findings can inform the design of cultural competence strategies for health-care organizations.