Cultural & Language Resources
Last Updated: Friday, September 15, 2023
Department of Health: Office of Minority Health
The Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is dedicated to improving the health of racial and ethnic minority populations through the development of health policies and programs that will help eliminate disparities. To achieve this goal, OMH developed the first Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) standards in 2000. Today, the National CLAS standards provide a blueprint for health care organizations to provide quality health care and advance health equity. Follow the links below to learn more.
Integrating Cultural Information into Clinical Practice
EthnoMed provides Information about cultural beliefs, medical issues, and other topics related to the health care of immigrants to the U.S., many of whom are refugees.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Languages
The CDC website provides information in the most common languages spoken in the United States. Topics include emergency preparedness and response, diseases and conditions, data and statistics, environmental health, healthy living, injury, violence and safety, life stages and populations, travelers' health, and workplace safety and health among others. There also are links to 15 additional languages with the respective health information documents in English.
National Institutes of Health - U.S. National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus
MedlinePlus is an online health information resource for patients and their families and friends. It is a service of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the world's largest medical library, which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This site also provides health topics and information in languages other than English.
Cultural & Health Literacy Training
Training in health literacy, plain language, and culture and communication is essential for anyone working in health information and services. There are steps you can take to improve your cultural, language, and health literacy so you and your staff can better serve diverse consumers and communities. Explore these free cultural and health literacy training courses provided by the CDC.
