Cultural Immersion in the Education of Healthcare Professionals: A Systematic Review.

PURPOSE: With the ever-changing cultural makeup of society, the ability to deliver culturally appropriate healthcare is essential. One educational method aimed at increasing cultural knowledge and sensitivity in the education of healthcare professionals is cultural immersion. Cultural immersion creates opportunity for transformational learning through direct interaction with culturally diverse populations. The purpose of this systematic review is to examine the qualitative effects of cultural immersion experiences on graduate-level healthcare professional students.

METHODS: A search of the CINAHL and ERIC databases was performed utilizing search terms including cultural immersion, cultural sensitivity, educational outcomes, and healthcare professionals limited to publication within the last 10 years. The articles were screened according to title, abstract, and full-text following application of inclusion/exclusion criteria. Themes identified within each article were collected and categorized, using qualitative methodology, into five overarching domains to assess the educational experiences. Studies were scored for quality using the qualitative portion of the McGill Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool - 2011.

RESULTS: Nine studies incorporating a total of 94 participants with experiences in 14 different culturally diverse environments revealing 47 individually identified themes were included in the review. Results indicated that all cultural immersion experiences stimulated increased cultural awareness and sensitivity.

Discussion: Cultural immersion experiences produced a positive, multi-domain effect on cultural learning in students of the health professionals. Results support a basis for implementation of cultural immersion experiences into the education of healthcare professionals with the goal of increasing cultural sensitivity.