Those working in HIV care are used to working with many sensitive issues of identity and culture, including race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and hearing impairment and disabilities. However, data suggest that certain of these differences are more likely to be associated with disparities in health outcomes.

The goal of this document is to give busy, resource-limited HIV programs step-by-step guidance in how to reduce disparities by incorporating cultural competence into their existing performance improvement programs. The Guide includes specific examples of measures, cultural competency resources, and organizational assessment tools.

This tool was developed to give HIV clinics a guide on how to improve cultural competence in their organizations using quality improvement methodologies. The Guide was developed through a combination of literature review, interviews with experts in the field, and experience of grantees in Part A, C, and D programs. Parts of this tool have been used in the Oakland TGA, a metropolitan area in California.

The following additional tools and resources may be useful as you begin your work addressing cultural competence at your program:
• NQC National TA Webconference: Addressing Cultural Competence with Quality Improvement
• Cultural Competence in Health Care: Emerging Frameworks and Practical Approaches
• Compendium of Cultural Competence Initiatives
• Resources for Cross-Cultural Health Care
• Cultural Competence Resources for Health Care Providers
• Indicators of Cultural Competence in Health Care Delivery Organizations: An Organizational Cultural Competence Assessment Profile
• AIDS Education and Training Centers: Guiding Principles for Cultural Competency
• Cultural Competency Bibliography
• Health Disparities Collaboratives