Delivering quality health care services to diverse populations is a growing challenge for several important reasons. At the individual level, differences in language, age, culture, socioeconomic status, political and religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and life experience add complex dimensions to a person’s perception of the health care system and his or her ability to access services. These factors also can significantly affect interactions between clients and service providers. Programs and providers must consider these issues when designing and implementing outreach, services, and training. At the systems level, many of the Americans who are in greatest need of health care services also are dealing with other problems - alcohol and drug use, infectious disease, mental illness, homelessness, and criminal justice issues - that require innovative and collaborative responses from service providers. Systems must learn to work together in spite of different organizational cultures, categorical funding requirements, and tradition.

All too often, providers and systems are ill prepared for addressing intercultural health issues. Health Systems Research, Inc. (HSR) works with providers, agencies, and systems at all levels of the community health, mental health, and social service infrastructure that support and assist clients from these diverse populations. Using a strengths-based approach, we focus on:

• Decreasing barriers and increasing access to services through interagency collaboration
• Conducting community-based and peer-led efforts to integrate services delivery
• Increasing the competencies of providers to serve people of differing cultures, linguistic and demographic backgrounds, abilities, and sexual orientation
• Increasing the diversity of the health professions workforce
• Supporting consumer health groups
• Emphasizing a systems approach based on the active involvement and cooperation of organizations, health and health services planners, and providers from many disciplines and communities.

HSR’s staff draws upon skills acquired through training and direct experience with professionals and community leaders across the country. We are particularly skilled in adapting models used successfully in one context (e.g., homeless policy academies, cross-training, consumer support) for use in other areas.