• Siham Bouchareb, van der HeijdenAmber A W AAAWADepartment of General Practice, Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands., Josine A Y van Diesen, Maria van den Muijsenbergh, Sylvia Mennink, de VetHenrica C WHCWEpidemiology and Data Science, Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands., Annette H Blankenstein, and EldersPetra J MPJMDepartment of General Practice, Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.Epidemiology and Data Science, Amsterdam UMC location .
• Department of General Practice, Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
• Scand J Prim Health Care. 2024 Mar 1; 42 (1): 101111101-111.

ObjectiveTo assess the cultural competence (CC) of GP trainees and GP trainers.Design and setting: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted at the GP Training Institute of Amsterdam UMC.SubjectsWe included 92 GP trainees and 186 GP trainers.Main Outcome MeasuresWe measured the three domains of cultural competency: 1) knowledge, 2) culturally competent attitudes and 3) culturally competent skills. Regression models were used to identify factors associated with levels of CC. Participants rated their self-perceived CC at the beginning and end of the survey, and the correlation between self-perceived and measured CC was assessed.ResultsApproximately 94% of the GP trainees and 81% of the GP trainers scored low on knowledge; 45% and 42%, respectively, scored low on culturally competent attitudes. The level of culturally competent skills was moderate (54.3%) or low (48.4%) for most GP trainees and GP trainers. The year of residency and the GP training institute were significantly associated with one or more (sub-)domains of CC in GP trainees. Having >10% migrant patients and experience as a GP trainer were positively associated with one or more (sub-) domains of cultural competence in GP trainers. The correlation between measured and self-perceived CC was positive overall but very weak (Spearman correlation coefficient ranging from -0.1-0.3).ConclusionThe level of cultural competence was low in both groups, especially in the knowledge scores. Cultural competence increased with experience and exposure to an ethnically diverse patient population. Our study highlights the need for cultural competence training in the GP training curricula.

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