Sixth National Conference on Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse Populations:

This roundtable session will feature panelists from a dozen countries and international organizations who will discuss global efforts to address the impact of culture in health services design and delivery and the potential benefits of formalizing an ongoing dialogue among national, international, and nongovernmental organizations.
Panelists will discuss with each other, and with audience members, the following questions:

1. How has your country or organization addressed the impact of cultural and linguistic differences/health inequalities presented by migrant, indigenous, ethnic or minority populations seeking health care? Please mention any special programs, conferences, or initiatives that you think have been useful for raising awareness around this issue.
2. In your experience, what are the political, economic, social, or cultural barriers to acknowledging and responding to cultural and linguistic differences/health inequalities in health care settings? Have these attitudes become more or less accommodating over the last 5 years?
3. What are the benefits of talking internationally about the role of culture in service delivery, especially across different population segments such as minority populations, ethnic groups, migrants, and indigenous peoples? How can we bridge the distances, and differences in perspectives, to learn from and build on each other’s experiences?
4. Who do we need to engage to get this topic on the agendas of key decision-makers?
5. Are documents such as the US Office of Minority Health’s National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health Care , the EU’s Amsterdam Declaration: Towards Migrant Friendly Hospitals in an ethno-culturally diverse Europe , and other frameworks that have been developed in different countries helpful in moving these initiatives forward? Are they adaptable to other settings?
6. Is it possible and desirable to launch a global dialogue/collaboration on culture and health? Such a dialogue could, for example:
   • Raise the profile and the legitimacy of the impact of culture on service delivery, especially among national leaders and key stakeholder organizations
   • Identify commonalities and differences in frameworks and approaches
   • Share practices, resources, ideas, and concerns
   • Explore the possibilities for professional networking.