Navigating Cultural Competency
Medford Office of Prevention & Outreach
Overview
The City of Medford's Office of Prevention & Outreach (OPO) was looking to better understand community perspectives on behavioral health and substance use disorder, particularly in communities of color and communities who speak English as a second or foreign language. ACBC Consulting designed workshops to engage 4 different cultural-linguistic backgrounds for diverse perspectives on behavioral health challenges. We then collaborated with a cohort of community members from these 4 cultural-linguistic backgrounds to co-develop a culturally-competent behavioral health campaign encouraging communities to seek behavioral health care.
Challenge
The OPO was aware that some of their behavioral health messaging was not resonating with communities of color and communities who speak English as a second or foreign language. The OPO wished to understand their perspectives on behavioral health challenges in order to create more culturally-competent resources and services.
Approach
ACBC Consulting designed interactive workshops for 4 different cultural-linguistic backgrounds to understand perceptions of behavioral health challenges, such as substance use disorder. We also guided OPO through the process of exploring partnerships with faith-based organizations for providing mental health first aid to their members and destigmatize behavioral health care. ACBC Consulting also designed a process for co-developing a community-led and culturally-competent behavioral health awareness campaign with a cohort of members from the 4 different cultural-linguistic backgrounds engaged in the workshops.
Outcome
ACBC Consulting helped OPO to better understand the perspectives of communities of color and communities who speak English as a second or foreign language on behavioral health challenges. The workshops also allowed community members to directly respond to rough-draft behavioral health materials, allowing the OPO to adjust them based on feedback. The collaboration with faith-based organizations was a significant step in supporting individuals who require behavioral health care but may be hesitant to seek it. Finally, the engaging with 4 different cultural-linguistic backgrounds to co-develop behavioral health awareness materials spearheaded an interest in supporting the mental and behavioral health of their communities and active learning of "mental health first aid" to encourage community members to seek care services.
Conclusion
ACBC Consulting's approach helped the OPO engage with diverse cultural-linguistic groups in a culturally-appropriate and effective way. The community-led approach ensured that community voices and perspectives were heard, resulting in more effective behavioral health messaging and health-seeking behaviors. Partnering with faith-based organizations has also helped to destigmatize behavioral health, breaking down barriers for individuals who might not have otherwise sought out behavioral health care. Overall, ACBC Consulting's approach resulted in a more culturally competent approach to behavioral health and new-found interests in developing communities of care to support the mental and behavioral health of the city's diverse cultural-linguistic backgrounds.