Utilizing the Intercultural Development Inventory® to develop intercultural competence

Purpose: Health care professional education programs in the United States have been charged to devise strategies to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of the workforce (Health Resources and Services Administration, Nursing Workforce Diversity (NWD) http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/grants/nwd.html, 2014). The purpose of this charge is to develop a healthcare workforce that can better provide culturally relevant care to meet the needs of diverse communities. The purpose of this study was to assess the cultural competency of students, faculty, and staff from a small Midwest-university college of nursing.

Methods: This study was part of a larger interventional study to enhance the cultural development of the College of Nursing faculty, staff, and students. The sample for this study included 314 participants (students, faculty, and staff) in phase one of the parent study. Phase one included the initial administration of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI®) over a two year period with analysis of the pre-test results. Phase two includes the implementation of cultural development interventions with a post-test IDI® survey and is currently in process.

Results: IDI® aggregate results were similar for students and faculty/staff in that most participants scored at the Minimization level according to the IDI®. Ninety-eight percent of student participants overestimated their level of cultural competency. Minority students had higher cultural competency scores in terms of developmental orientation (M = 98.85, SD = 14.21) compared to non-minority students (M = 94.46, SD = 14.96).

Conclusions: Overall, the IDI® was a valuable self-reflection tool to assess cultural development. At the individual level, it has allowed for self-reflection and awareness to the reality of cultural development, attitudes, and values. At an institutional level, the aggregate results provided a framework for the examination of department policies, procedures, and curriculum design with the ultimate goal of graduating a more culturally competent nursing workforce to serve the greater community.