Factors Associated with Cultural Competence and Perceived Barriers to Providing Culturally-Appropriate Services to Latina Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

Background/Purpose: Latinas constitute a particularly vulnerable population affected by intimate partner violence (IPV). Despite their increased vulnerability, Latina survivors are more likely than other survivors to underuse services. Latina survivors experience a number of unique help-seeking barriers and often lack knowledge about resources, laws, and rights. Moreover, IPV services in the U.S. were originally and generally developed by White, middle-class women to meet the needs of other majority-culture women. Therefore, additional service-related barriers to help-seeking include lack of culturally-relevant services, language barriers, discrimination and anti-immigrant climate, and negative experiences with previous help-seeking.

Given Latina survivors’ need for services combined with significant barriers to help-seeking, it is important to ensure that when Latina survivors seek services they are met with culturally competent providers and programs. To provide helpful services for Latina survivors, it is critical to understand what factors enhance or impede an agency’s delivery of culturally-appropriate services.

Methods: In partnership with our state domestic violence coalition, we conducted a survey of all domestic violence agencies in a southeastern U.S. state. Executive directors were invited to complete a survey focused on community/agency characteristics, cultural competency when working with Latina survivors, and perceived barriers to providing culturally-appropriate services. Cultural competency was measured by an 18-item, study-developed scale with four subscales: Organizational Practices (α=0.88), Service Delivery (α=0.84), Cultural Knowledge/Community Engagement (α=0.91), and Critical Awareness/Reflection (α=0.96).

We employed five linear, multivariate regressions. Four regressions examined the relationship between each of the cultural competency subscales as a dependent variable and 8 dichotomous independent variables measuring perceived barriers to providing culturally-appropriate services, including knowledge regarding Latinx culture, size of agency, remoteness of service area, trainings about culturally relevant best practices, new migration destination, federal/state policies, stigma, and Latinx staff. The fifth regression examined the relationship between the number of perceived barriers as a dependent variable (i.e., continuous variable ranging from 0-26) and 6 independent variables assessing agency/community characteristics (i.e., Latinx staff, number of counties served, rurality, presence in Latinx community, and anti-Latinx and anti-immigrant community attitudes).

Results: Sixty-six of the 84 identified directors completed the survey. Four of the five regressions were significant. Lack of cultural knowledge and related trainings were associated with lower levels of culturally competent service delivery and cultural knowledge/community engagement. Having Latina staff was associated with higher levels of culturally competent organizational practices, whereas lacking cultural knowledge was associated with lower levels. Moreover, rural agencies, those with lower presence in the Latinx community, and those in communities with anti-Latinx attitudes reported more barriers to cultural competency.

Conclusion/Implications: This exploratory study highlights the importance of knowledge regarding Latinx culture/needs and the availability of training about culturally relevant best-practices as potential promoters of cultural competence. These malleable factors were more critical to an agency’s cultural competence than less malleable factors such as remoteness of service area and federal/state polices. Further, some agencies (e.g., rural agencies, agencies in communities with anti-Latino attitudes) report more perceived barriers to providing culturally competent services and may benefit from resources, including funding, trainings, and enhanced technical support.