OHANA: Optimizing Cross-Cultural Care (OHANA)

OHANA Project: Optimizing Health Care Through Alignment and Care Across Cultures

Increasing globalisation and international migration have led to greater cultural diversity in Western societies, including healthcare settings. Hospitals and healthcare environments have become meeting places for individuals from different cultural backgrounds.

This diversity presents significant opportunities for improving healthcare, but also introduces complex challenges related to communication, trust and mutual understanding between healthcare professionals and patients. In this context, the concept of culturally competent care, i.e. the ability of healthcare professionals to provide respectful and appropriate care to patients by taking into account their cultural beliefs, values and practices, emerges as a crucial approach to address the specific needs of patients from different cultures. The concept of cultural competence was first introduced by Cross, who defines it as a set of behaviours, attitudes and policies that, when integrated into an organisation or among professionals, enable them to operate effectively in intercultural contexts.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Cultural Competence

Detailed Description

Although there is preliminary evidence on the benefits of cultural concordance, the literature is still scarce and fragmented. In particular, there is a lack of in-depth studies on the subjective experiences of the main actors involved. For healthcare professionals, cultural concordance could be a valuable resource, but also a source of additional stress or pressure, especially if perceived as a task requiring cultural or linguistic competence that is not always adequately supported. For patients, the experience of being cared for by a professional from the same culture might enhance a sense of trust and comfort, but also generate unrealistic expectations or influence perceptions of quality of care. Exploring the lived experiences of healthcare professionals and patients in a context of cultural concordance is essential to understanding perceived benefits, criticisms and areas for improvement. This multicentre study, coordinated by the Gemelli Hospital in Italy in collaboration with several Italian hospitals , aims to explore cultural concordance in a variety of healthcare settings, providing an in-depth understanding of the potentials and criticisms of cultural concordance in hospital settings

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 20

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Cristina Pistacchio, PI; Phone Number: +393382458373; Email: cristina.pistacchio@policlinicogemelli.it
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Daniele Napolitano, Sub-I; Phone Number: +393382650440; Email: daniele.napolitano@policlinicogemelli.it

Study Locations

• Italy
  • Rome, Italy, 00168
    • Recruiting
    • Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS
    • Contact: Cristina Pistacchio, PI; Phone Number: +393382458373; Email: cristina.pistacchio@policlinicogemelli.it

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: N/A

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study will be conducted by enrolling participants who adopt a cultural concordance system.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• All nurses or caregivers involved in the concordance system cultural will be included, with direct experience in caring for foreign patients
• All foreign patients admitted to hospital who speak a language other than the main language of the host country and who have been involved in the concordance system cultural will be included

Exclusion Criteria:

• All patients with severe cognitive conditions that prevent participation and nurses or caregivers who do not work closely with assigned patients will be excluded.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Health workers' perceived utility of the cultural concordance system	Assessed through thematic content analysis of semi-structured interviews.	12 months
Socio-demographic characteristics of health workers	Collected using a socio-demographic questionnaire.	12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patients' perceptions of the cultural sensitivity of care received	Assessed through thematic content analysis of semi-structured interviews.	24 months
Socio-demographic characteristics of patients	Collected using a socio-demographic questionnaire.	24 months
Barriers to implementation of the cultural concordance system	Assessed through thematic content analysis of semi-structured interviews with health workers.	24 months
Facilitators to implementation of the cultural concordance system	Assessed through thematic content analysis of semi-structured interviews with health workers.	24 months
Development of evidence-based recommendations to improve cultural concordance	Number and content of guidelines produced based on interview data.	24 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Cristina Pistacchio, PI, Fondazione Policlinico A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 10, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 4, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 17, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): April 25, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): August 26, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 25, 2025
• Last Verified: August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: Project OHANA - ID 7512

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No