Development of a tool for the evaluation of cultural competence of staff members at a secure forensic unit in the UK: A feasibility study

Cultural competence among healthcare professionals and providers is pivotal to providing effective, safe, and quality services. This paper considers the feasibility of using a tool to measure cultural competence within forensic mental health services, adapted from the Cultural Competence and Linguistic Competence Policy Assessment (CLCPA) developed in the United States (US). The adapted tool was piloted at a secure forensic unit in England; this consisted of a two-phase approach to data collection comparing the results from an initial assessment (time 1, n = 50), with those of a follow-up assessment conducted three years later (time 2, n = 100). The aim was to assess the practicability of using the tool to measure perceptions of cultural competence among 150 staff members, as part of a wider quality assurance and improvement process. The results indicate that the tool has utility in measuring perceptions of cultural competence and that the information gathered can be used to plan service improvements. Yet, it is recommended that the tool is modified at site-level as part of a collaborative exercise with staff and patients and according to service need prior to implementation.