Application of Culturally Responsive Evaluation in Occupational Safety and Health Services: Findings from Scoping Review

Immigrant workers constitute a major portion of farmworkers in the United States, and their number has been gradually increasing over the years. These workers are among the most vulnerable to occupational injury and illness because of constraints in communication, lack of medical insurance, cultural beliefs, and discriminatory practices. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's (NIOSH) Centers for Agricultural Safety and Health (Ag Centers) were established with the aim of reducing injuries and illnesses in the agriculture, forestry, and fishing (AgFF) sectors through research, education, and prevention projects. Diversity of populations served by these Ag Centers is identified as a challenge for assessing the impact of the centers. Employing sensitive lenses like culturally responsive evaluation (CRE) is critical in the evaluation of Ag Centers, because it captures cultural nuances that might have affected the implementation and/or outcome of the project. We conducted a scoping review of the literature in CRE to identify practical strategies for CRE implementation. We categorized the findings into four deductively formed groups about cultural competence: acknowledge the complexity of cultural identity, recognize the dynamics of power, recognize and eliminate bias in language, and employ culturally appropriate methods.