Cultural competency training for psychiatry residents and mental health professionals: A systematic review

Introduction: Cultural competence is a prerequisite skill for a psychiatrist. There is a dearth of information on the methods used for training of cultural competence and their outcomes. This study aims to explore and determine the existing methods used for cultural competency training (CCT) for psychiatry residents and how useful these training methods are. Method: A systematic review methodology based on PRISMA guidelines was adopted for this study. The literature search reviewed databases of PubMed and MesH, using keywords ‘psychiatry resident’, ‘psychiatry’, ‘psychiatrist’, ‘mental health’, and ‘mental health professional’. In the end,14 articles qualified for the detailed review. The level of evidence and quality of the studies were evaluated and recorded. Results: The methods of cultural competence training identified were grouped as, active/passive/mixed; group training/individual training. These included documentaries or non-feature films based teaching, secondary consultation and cross consultation models, case vignette discussions, Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), behavioral simulation, video demonstration, cultural discussion in rounds, and traditional clinical teaching. The studies covered participants from different cultural backgrounds, mainly urban and predominantly university/institution based. Conclusion: There is limited literature in the area to conclude one method to be better than the other with respect to CCT in psychiatry residents. However, this review identified a variety of training methods, which can be used and pave way for research on their effectiveness. Training and evaluation of psychiatry residents in the area of cultural competence should be done routinely during their training to enable them to practice in the multi ethic societies.