I See You.

Staff members sometimes struggle interacting with patients who look, dress, and sound different. They try too hard or not at all.

As a result, too many people feel uneasy shopping. Most (55%) U.S. Black adults say they’re treated less fairly than white adults in retail and health care environments, according to a recent Gallup poll.

With guidance, staff can improve skills to ease the friction, said Diana Canto-Sims, O.D., founder of Chicago’s Buena Vista Optical and co-founder of nonprofit LEO (Latinos en Optometry.) “It would be wonderful if everyone got their staff a boot camp course on cultural competence,” she says.

Broadly defined, cultural competence is the ability to understand, appreciate, and interact with people from cultures or belief systems different from one’s own. It goes beyond mere awareness to include appreciation, a positive attitude, and behaviors that are practiced until they become second nature.

With a patient base that’s 80% Latino, Dr. Canto-Sims celebrates the culture with vibrant colors and lively salsa or cumbia music pulsing from the speakers at her practice. Non-Latino newcomers expecting a sedate, clinical setting may be surprised by the festive vibe, but quickly relax thanks to friendly staff trained to embrace cultural differences with sincerity.

How? Buena Vista staff members follow wisdom from Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and Don Miguel Ruiz’s “The Four Agreements.”

Among the key edicts: “Don’t make assumptions” and “Don’t take things personally.” Master those and you’ve defused the biggest stressors when cultures collide, says Dr. Canto-Sims, who serves on The Vision Council’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force.

Here, she shares some key strategies for overcoming cultural barriers in the practice.

BRIDGE BUILDERS

➤ Hire bilingual staff.

➤ Create intake forms in multiple languages. “Forms that are almost empty? Maybe they don’t understand the question,” Dr. Canto-Sims says.

➤ Perform the exam, or parts of it, in a patient’s language. Spanish speakers appreciate even a few simple phrases like mira hacia arriba (“look up”) or mira mi frente (“look at my forehead”) because they demonstrate effort even if the accent is off. Most non-Latino Black adults, Latinos, and non-Latino adults of other races (about 60%) say it’s important their health care providers share/understand their culture, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

➤ Analyze demographics and determine if frame lines meet patient needs. When Dr. Canto-Sims discovered her optical offerings didn’t cater to her patients’ facial structure or complexion, she created her own line, La Vida Eyewear, designed for Latinos’ bridges, cheekbones, and love for color.

SOUND + IMAGE

Other sensory signals illustrate how your eyecare practice is inclusive and multicultural.

Cookie-cutter stock photos in the optical? “Stop doing that,” Dr. Canto-Sims says. Ask frame reps to provide diverse POP materials.

Recruit staff, patients, and volunteers via social media to model your bestsellers at photo shoots. The resulting images foster a sense of belonging because patients see themselves and their community in store signage.

“Before you even say the words, ‘We are diverse,’ you say that with imagery the moment people walk in, the moment they open your website,” shares Dr. Canto-Sims.

Promote diversity with audio, too, she says. To be inclusive of all cultures and social identities, switch up the practice’s music to tie in with LGBTQ Pride Month in June, for example. Commemoration months offer endless opportunities for fun music mashups: October celebrates the heritage of Italian Americans, Filipino Americans, and Polish Americans, while November ushers in Native American Heritage Month.