Proceedings of the 34th International Academic Conference, Florence

INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE SKILLS: A TOOL FOR ARGUMENTATIVE VIOLENCE REDUCTION IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES

ABDELLAH BENAHNIA

Abstract:

Argumentative violence among co-workers in healthcare facilities is a serious matter that needs close attention at different levels. There are many causes that may lead to this phenomenon. However, there are many different tools that might be used as a remedy to reduce violence, or at least find suitable solutions to minimize it. One of these solutions is to find a remedy via training which must be geared towards enriching the employees' intercultural competence and cross-cultural understanding. Previous studies have shown that lack of exposure to other cultures leads to cross-cultural misunderstanding, at the same token, lack of Intercultural Competence (ICC) skills might lead to cultural clashes. The present research is an attempt to investigate the issue of violence within KFMC, and tries to shed light on the importance of incorporating ICC skills and cross-cultural awareness programs in training for the sake of the wellbeing of healthcare communities. Some of the main objectives of the study is to: 1- Determine if KFMC staff are aware of Intercultural Competence skills; 2- find out if there are any cross-cultural clashes among KFMC employees; and 3- find out how various variables affect respondents’ perceptions of ICC skills. The research seems to be a pioneer study that would enlighten other researchers and pave the way to them as well as to those who are responsible of the health sector and policy makers to embark on in-depth research regarding ICC in the Arab world.

Keywords: Intercultural Competence (ICC); Violence in healthcare; culture in healthcare

DOI: 10.20472/IAC.2017.034.010

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