Cultural Competence in Sexual Health Education

Our sexual health plays a pivotal role in our overall health and well-being, and it's becoming increasingly important for professionals who specialize in sexual health education to have an understanding of cultural competence. By offering inclusive sexual health education, professionals such as counselors, healthcare providers, and educators can have a greater impact on their clients, patients, and students.

Understanding Cultural Competence in Sexual Health Education

According to the International Society for Sexual Medicine, professionals who specialize in sexual health should focus on developing tailored educational programs that promote respect for diverse beliefs and cultures. Further, the programs should help reduce the stigma that surrounds sexual health and the equity gap, making sexual health education programs more accessible for all.

What Is Cultural Competence?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines cultural competence as the set of behaviors, attitudes, and policies that allow professionals to collaborate effectively in cross-cultural situations. Individuals and organizations that are culturally competent can:

• rely on their own values and principles to act with others appropriately and respectfully in a cross-cultural situation.
• perform self-assessments to be mindful of their own unconscious bias and to prioritize diversity within the work or social environment.
• apply their cultural competence in professional, personal, and social situations in a way that is productive and beneficial for all involved parties.

Benefits of Cultural Competence in Education

Cultural competence is often described as one of the most pivotal 21st-century skills, particularly for professionals who will navigate a global economy and working with a diverse range of individuals throughout their careers. Below are some of the most important benefits of cultural competence in education.

• It equips people with skills they'll need to navigate an ever-evolving world, where people work together from a wide range of cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds.
• It allows individuals to develop problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, because they are able to apply their knowledge of other cultures and belief systems within the context of the challenge they are trying to solve.
• It gives people an opportunity to learn how to better interact with others and engage in more productive and rewarding cultural exchanges.

Why Cultural Competence Matters in Sexual Health Education

Healthcare providers, therapists, counselors, and educators will find that there is growing diversity in their student and patient populations, which is one of the key reasons why cultural competence matters in sexual health education. By investing in professional development in sexual health, these professionals can foster inclusivity within their practices, grow their client base, and ultimately advance their careers.

Key Elements of an Inclusive Sexual Health Education Approach

Healthcare providers, educators, and counselors who want to develop an inclusive sexual health education approach will need to create a comprehensive strategy that includes several key elements. Research published in the Sex Education academic journal states that adolescents who are just beginning to explore and understand their own sexuality will be significantly influenced by cultural traditions and norms within their community. Their understanding of their sexual identity and their beliefs regarding sexual practices will have an undeniable influence on their development. Sexual health professionals should adopt an inclusive sexual health education approach that contextualizes those beliefs and promotes a deeper understanding of sexual health to improve overall outcomes.

You can develop an inclusive approach to sexual health education by:

Incorporating Diverse Perspectives

Your sexual health programming should accommodate different perspectives to ensure that all people participating in the programming feel seen, heard, and represented. This can promote improved outcomes among all of the people that you work with.

Addressing Language and Communication Differences

Inclusive sexual health programming extends beyond cultural and religious beliefs. You should also address language and communication differences to ensure that all people can benefit from the educational experience. For example, creating sexual health pamphlets in a variety of languages can help you provide factual and relatable information to all of your clients.

Promoting Equity and Respect

Respectful language and equitable information should be a constant in all of your sexual health education materials and programs. You will be able to develop a deeper sense of trust between you and your students, patients, or clients. This commitment to respect may also help you to advance your career because it will allow a wider range of people to participate in your educational programming.

Challenges in Developing Cultural Competence and How to Overcome Them

Cultural competence is not a finite journey—you will never obtain all of the knowledge about every single person from all cultures and communities. As a result, achieving cultural competence can seem overwhelming. The key to addressing the challenges associated with becoming culturally competent is to be patient with and kind to yourself and to make a commitment to continue pursuing new information, knowledge, and understanding.

Rather than becoming discouraged on your journey, you can learn how to practice cultural humility. Through cultural humility, you can continue to assess your own understanding of another culture in an attempt to reduce unconscious bias and ask questions that help you better appreciate and respect the viewpoints of others. By combining cultural humility with cultural competence, you can work toward your goal of embedding cultural competence into sexual health education.

Professional Development Strategies to Enhance Cultural Competence

Knowing that becoming more culturally competent is a lifelong journey, you should continue to invest in professional development in sexual health education. Through these continual learning experiences, you can develop the practical, technical, and soft skills required to create inclusive sexual health education.

Some of the leading professional development strategies include:

Continuing Education and Training

By prioritizing professional development throughout your career, you will be able to acquire new skills that will allow you to become more culturally competent on professional and personal levels. Professional development in sexual health often focuses on topics such as sexual health awareness, sexual health practices in other cultures, sexual health policy, and trauma-informed sexual care.

Building a Diverse Network

Having a diverse professional network allows you to brainstorm with professionals whose ideas and cultural beliefs differ from your own. It enables you to develop new strategies to improve the inclusivity of your sexual health education programming.

Staying Informed on Cultural Trends

Finally, it's imperative to stay informed of the latest cultural trends around the world. This will enable you to take a proactive approach to sexual health education and create programming that is relevant for all of your clients, patients, or students.

Additional Sources

• Advancing Cultural Competency Toward Sexual and Gender Minorities (National Library of Medicine)
• What is cultural competence, and why is it important? (BCT Partners)
• How do I become culturally competent? (American Psychological Association)