Mexican American cultural sensitivity among family planning clinical staff

Abstract

This study examined possible relationships between characteristics of family planning clinical staff and their knowledge of and attitudes towards Mexican American culture. Characteristics included: (a) ethnicity, (b) length of employment, (c) cultural issues experience, (d) clinic site, and (e) clinic type. Thirty-two clinical staff members of a large family planning organization located in Ft. Worth, Texas participated. The Mexican American Attitude and Knowledge Scale (Doyle & Chng, 1994) was administered in September 1995 to determine knowledge and attitudes. ANOVAs and Pearson's Product Moment correlation were used to analyze data. No significant differences were found between clinical staff characteristics and knowledge. Significant differences were found between attitudes and ethnicity and clinic type. An inverse correlation was found between length of employment and attitudes. No significant differences were found between cultural issues experience and clinic site with attitudes. Results indicated a low knowledge of Mexican American culture and a high or more positive attitude toward Mexican American culture.