Cultural Competency of Family Medicine Practitioners Working in Saudi Arabia: A Review Article Dr Shehla Nasr

Abstract

Background: Cultural Saudi Arabia's varied population, customary medical beliefs, religious customs, and a transforming healthcare environment create a multifaceted challenge for achieving cultural competency in healthcare. Cultural competency training can greatly influence healthcare since it relates to the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of healthcare workers, thereby impacting patient health outcomes. Aim: This review paper aims to examine the literature evaluating cultural competency among Family Medicine professionals in Saudi Arabia based the healthcare workers reported barriers and training received. Method: A total of 7 relevant scientific articles were selected from various databases (such as Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct) for this review, based on keywords such as “Culture Competency”, “Family Medicine Practitioners”, “Saudi Arabia” and “Healthcare Competency”. Results: The results highlighted the challenges in achieving cultural competency, with confounding factors including healthcare provider’s gender, age, and experience. Healthcare professionals also reported issues related to lack of sufficient training on cultural competency, and showed their preference and willingness to receive cultural competency education in their practice. Data examining the impact of health professionals' cultural biases and assumptions on patient care was not available, suggesting an area for further research. Conclusion: Delivering tailored culturally competent care to patients poses a significant challenge in Saudi Arabia. A thorough assessment of individual training programs to enhance cultural competence in relation and therefore patient care must be prioritised. Incorporating a wider range of cultural viewpoints into future research is also essential, as well as measuring the level of cultural competency specifically among Family Medicine professionals.