Medical faculty members’ perspectives on the components of cross-cultural competence in the Islamic Republic of Iran: a qualitative study

Despite the importance of cultural competence in health care, there has been no research to develop a framework for cultural competence in the Iranian context. This qualitative study at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences aimed to elucidate the views of medical faculty staff on the components of cross-cultural competence and compare these with similar studies published in English. Using a combination of archival studies, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions among faculty members 3 major domains (knowledge, attitude and behaviour) and 21 components were identified to describe the cross-cultural competence of faculty members in medical schools. Participants expressed the importance of knowledge as a precursor to changing attitudes and the 6 knowledge components related to knowledge and awareness of values, beliefs and norms of different ethnic, racial and cultural groups. Experts mostly emphasized the importance of interaction between faculty members and clients (students and patients).