Learning Outcomes of Diverse Oncology Professionals After the TEAM Cultural Competency Training

Racial, ethnic, sexual, and gender minorities are more likely to report challenges with oncology provider communication and quality of care. The Together-Equitable-Accessible-Meaningful (TEAM) training was developed to improve health equity across cancer care organizations by guiding teams of interprofessional learners through planning and implementation of quality improvements to advance equitable, accessible, and patient-centered cancer care. This study compared changes to self-reported cultural competence as measured by the Cultural Competency Assessment (CCA); Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Development of Clinical Skills Scale (LGBT-DOCSS); and Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale (ISVS). The primary aim of the study was to assess changes to self-reported cultural competence; the secondary aim was to examine changes to interprofessional valuation from baseline to post-intervention. Results indicated statistically significant improvements in self-reported Cultural Competency Behaviors (p = .055), a subscale of the CCA, and Attitudinal Awareness toward sexual and gender minorities (p = .046), a subscale of the LGBT-DOCSS, using p < .10 as statistically significant. These subscale results drove statistically significant improvements for their respective composite scales. No other statistically significant results were found. This study suggests that cultural competency training among interprofessional oncology health care professionals can be effective. Given the growing diversity within the USA, additional opportunities for cultural competency training are needed.