Serving a Culturally Diverse Pediatric Population

By Lindsay M. Bondurant

This article is a part of the March/April 2021, Volume 33, Number 2, Audiology Today issue.

As audiologists continue the much-needed and long-awaited discussion about ways we can improve service provision to a culturally diverse patient population, we have an obligation to include the unique needs of our pediatric patients and their families. This consideration is critical because, if we don’t connect with parents in a way that supports them along their journey, it can disrupt the audiologist-parent relationship that is so crucial to the success of children with hearing loss.

This article offers an overview of cultural diversity in health care (generally) and audiology (specifically),  a discussion of the needs of children and their families from an array of backgrounds, and a list of suggestions and resources for audiologists working with a culturally diverse pediatric population.

Defining Cultural Diversity

Cultural diversity relates to the heterogeneity within a given group of people, including a range of beliefs, values, traditions, languages, religions, political ideals, education levels, physical abilities and disabilities, ages, sexual orientations, genders, races, and ethnicities. In recent decades, many Americans have moved away from the idea of the American melting pot, with its implications of assimilation and acculturation, and instead have moved toward the idea of the American salad bowl, in which people from diverse backgrounds retain the customs and qualities that make them unique.

As the population of the United States becomes increasingly diverse—currently 40 percent of all Americans identify as a category other than white, non-Hispanic—there is an increasing need for educators and health-care professionals to be able to effectively support students, patients, and families who come from a wide array of backgrounds, traditions, and belief systems.