How to Put Cultural Diversity and Inclusion into Practice

Date: 07/21/23

MHS Health is committed to the development, strengthening, and sustaining of healthy provider and member relationships. Members are entitled to dignified, appropriate, and quality care. When healthcare services are delivered without regard for cultural differences, members are at risk for sub-optimal care. Members may be unable or unwilling to communicate their healthcare needs in an insensitive environment, reducing the effectiveness of the entire healthcare process.

Cultural competency within the MHS Health network is defined as, “a set of interpersonal skills that allow individuals to increase their understanding, appreciation, acceptance and respect for cultural diversity and similarities within, among and between groups and the sensitivity to know how these differences influence relationships with members.”

MHS Health members speak more than 15 languages, and the population grows more diverse every year. In 2022, 91.3% of Wisconsin residents reported English as their preferred language and 4.6% prefer Spanish, followed by 2.0% prefer other Indo-European, according to the U.S. Census data.

Member Reported Language to Practitioner Language Composition Comparison by Practitioner Type
	Member		Primary Care		Specialist		Behavioral		All Practitioners*		Ratio
	f	%	f	%	f	%	f	%	f	%	( : )
Language
English	34,416	92.1%	N/A**	N/A**	N/A**	N/A**	N/A**	N/A**	N/A**	N/A**	N/A**
Spanish	2,253	6.0%	259	4.0%	212	3.0%	100	4.2%	499	3.7%	4.52
Hmong	249	0.7%	6	0.1%	1	0.0%	6	0.3%	13	0.1%	19.15
Burmese	161	0.4%	1	0.0%	1	0.0%	0	0.0%	1	0.0%	161.00
Lao	70	0.19%	1	0.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	1	0.0%	70.00
Somali	38	0.10%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	0.00
Vietnamese	35	0.09%	5	0.1%	5	0.1%	1	0.0%	10	0.1%	3.50
Ukrainian	34	0.09%	3	0.0%	3	0.0%	0	0.0%	5	0.0%	6.80
Arabic	32	0.09%	48	0.7%	45	0.6%	7	0.3%	69	0.5%	0.46
Chinese	25	0.07%	13	0.2%	29	0.4%	4	0.2%	38	0.3%	0.66
Russian	23	0.06%	27	0.4%	27	0.4%	8	0.3%	50	0.4%	0.46
Albanian	10	0.03%	1	0.0%	1	0.0%	0	0.0%	2	0.0%	5.00
Korean	10	0.03%	5	0.1%	6	0.1%	4	0.2%	13	0.1%	0.77
Persian	9	0.02%	1	0.0%	4	0.1%	2	0.1%	6	0.0%	1.50
French	6	0.02%	37	0.6%	57	0.8%	8	0.3%	80	0.6%	0.08

MHS Health Member Language Preferences

• 95%  Speak English 
• 5%  Speak another language
  • 70% speak Spanish
  • 9% speak Hmong
  • 9% declined to answer
  • 8% speak a language not listed
  • 5% speak Burmese

Accessing Patient Language Needs by Provider

MHS Health network providers have access to their MHS Health patients’ language needs. That information can be accessed by through the Secure Provider Portal. 

Resources

Visit Interpreter Resources for a list of translators and interpreters. There is additional information on Cultural Competency including facts on disparities in healthcare Cultural Competency. 

Cultural Considerations

Family members and friends should not be used as interpreters. They are more likely to modify what the member has said in their effort to be helpful. Therefore, we require the use of professional interpreters. Their job is to help facilitate effective communication between you and your patient.

For members who need or would like interpreter services, MHS Health will provide that a no cost. Please instruct the interpreter services to bill MHS Health for their services.

MHS Health has a list of professional interpretation services providers. 

Working with Interpreters

• Plan to allow enough time for the interpreted sessions.
• Avoid jargon and technical terms.
• Keep your utterances short, pausing to allow for the interpretation. Say one longer sentence or three or four short ones, and then stop in a natural place to let the interpreter pass your message along. The interpreter may need to hear the whole sentence before she can even start to interpret it.
• Ask only one question at a time.
• Be prepared to repeat yourself in different words if your message is not understood. If a response doesn't seem to fit with what you said, go back and repeat what you said in different words.
• Check to see if the message is understood.

Requesting Translated Materials

Contact MHS Health Provider Inquiry Line at 1-800-222-9831 to request MHS Health created materials to be printed in the specfic language or alternate format for your patients. There is no cost to the member or provider. 

Plan members receive information from MHS Health through mailings, the MHS Health website, outreach events, and during face-to-face contacts. MHS Health will produce written member materials in the language of the member’s preference and/or in an alternate format (large format, Braille, and audio files) upon request of the member.

Materials include but are not limited to:

• Targeted disease management education

• Important screenings, vaccines, and immunizations

• Find a Provider Directory

• My Health Pays Rewards Program

• Health Risk Screenings

• CAHPS surveys

• Information about emergency room use

• Member Handbook which includes information such as:

• Pregnancy Notification Forms
• Health Risk Assessment Forms (HRA)
• PCP Provider directory
• PCP selection form
• Adult and child preventive health guidelines
• Benefit information
• Member rights and responsibilities

Providers interested in receiving any of these materials may contact the MHS Health Provider Inquiry Line. When prompted, say “Something else” and the call will be transferred to Provider Services.

Member Rights and Responsibilities are included in the Member Handbook, which is available to members on the MHS Health website or in a hard copy format upon request. 

 

Thank you for being a valued partner in caring for the health and well-being of our members. If you have any questions, please contact your Provider Relations representative or call the Provider Inquiry Line at 1-800-222-9831. If you are unsure who your representative is, please email us at WI_Provider_Relations@mhswi.com.