Affiliations: Rehabilitation Research & Training Center on
Independent Living Management, Western New York Independent Living Project,
Inc., 3108 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14214, USA. Tel.: +1 716 836 0822 ext. 166;
Fax: +1 716 835 3967; E-mail: [email protected] | Department of Rehabilitation Science, OTR, MS,
University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA
Abstract: Objectives: Mandated to provide services to unserved and underserved
minority populations, independent living centers are seeking strategies to
increase their service proficiency and outreach effectiveness. This need is
currently being addressed through a training and research collaboration
combining a service intervention model called Culture Brokering and the
examination and analysis of the effectiveness of Culture Brokering training on
outreach to culturally diverse communities of people with disabilities. Study design: 50 participants attending Culture Brokering workshops
were given pre and post questionnaires to measure their knowledge gained and
any change in their cultural competence resulting from application of that
knowledge. The independent variable for the study was the culture brokering
workshops. The dependent variables were the scores assessed by the pre – post
knowledge questionnaire and competence questionnaire. Nonparametric tests were
used to analyze the pre-test and post-test knowledge questionnaire scores. A
paired t-test was applied to the competence questionnaire scores between
pre-test and post-test. Results: Forty-one out of 49 participants (84%) increased their
knowledge scores after the workshop. Workshop participants increased their
cultural competence scores on 35 items of the 36 items (97%); 25 (69%) items
were increased with statistical significance. Twenty-nine out of 41
participants (71%) increased their total scores after the workshop. Conclusions: The results of this study revealed that culture
brokering workshops had positive effects on participants' culture brokering
knowledge and cultural competence. More research is needed to evaluate the
effectiveness of Culture Brokering training on consumer satisfaction and
community outreach to minority populations.
Keywords: cultural competency, training, evaluation, unserved minorities, outreach
