Integrating culture and healing. Meeting the health care needs of a multicultural community.

Delivering health care to culturally diverse patients is fast becoming an integral part of patient care-a change driven by shifting demographics in Minnesota and especially in the Twin Cities metro area. At United Hospital and Children's Health Care-St. Paul, ethnographic research is being used to create cross-cultural health care information systems that address the needs of providers and patients. These include an easy-to-use computer-based information system, brown bag seminars, and cross-cultural skills training. This article discusses that hospitals' efforts to identify provider needs, collect cultural information, and disseminate that information in a manner that supports quality and cost-effective health care delivery.