Intercultural Competence of Medical Students in Hungary

Abstract

Providing interculturally competent care for patients with diverse ethnic or cultural backgrounds has received increasing attention in recent years, as a result of the accelerating inward migration in Europe. Monitoring healthcare systems and training of health professionals are crucial to achieving this purpose. This study aimed to establish medical students' level of clinical intercultural competence (ICC): knowledge, attitudes, skills, and comfort-level in intercultural situations. In order to assess the training needs of healthcare professionals, a self-completed anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted between September 2016 and April 2017 among 466 Hungarian medical students (both freshmen and upper-year students with clinical practice) at the Medical School, University of Pécs, Hungary. Data were analysed using SPSS 21.0. The results confirmed that better language competencies correlate proportionally with higher ICC scores. Previous training on diversity resulted in a better 'Knowledge' level but was not related to higher 'Skills', 'Attitudes', or 'Comfort-level in intercultural situations' scores. The students identified the challenges in integrating ICC into medical curricula and made recommendations for educational interventions for healthcare professionals. Assessing the baseline level and deficiencies in medical students’ intercultural competence may serve as strong evidence for the development of future specific and targeted ICC education.

Keywords

Medical education / questionnaire / curriculum development / diversity / health disparities / clinical intercultural competence

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