On any given day American doctors’ offices, hospital emergency rooms, and health centers, are alive with the sounds not only of Spanish, but also of Haitian, Creole, Somali, Hmong, Mandarin, Russian, and other languages from across the globe. These languages communicate more than words. They can also reflect experiences, cultures, and belief systems that may not fit neatly into the expectations of the U.S. healthcare system.

This divide, not only in language, but also in culture, belief, and knowledge, contributes to health care disparities in the United States. As the Institute of Medicine noted, “evidence of racial and ethnic disparities in health care is, with few exceptions, remarkably consistent across a range of illnesses and healthcare services.” The National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality (NICHQ), with its mission of eliminating the gap between what is and what can be in health care for all children, is committed to taking action to eliminate disparities.

Visit the disparities and cultural competency topic page