Diversity policies and practices - a new perspective for health care

Globalization and migration intensify relations of interdependence between individuals all over the world and lead to complex forms of social and cultural diversity both within and across societies. The changing structure of family patterns and processes of individualization also contribute to growing diversity. Organizations and actors in health care will therefore also be challenged to achieve social inclusion of care seekers with different social and cultural backgrounds. Disparities in the health status of people from socially and culturally diverse backgrounds have been examined broadly, but the question is how diversity as an innovative concept will influence any agenda of research on human health and health care provision.

The purpose of this article is to theorize what a diversity framework could imply for health research and care system alike. Our thesis is that diversity as a reference point for research and practices will gain significance in Germany and Europe. We will present methodologies to understand diversity and “intersectionality” as paradigms to investigate the complexity and interdependence of health modifiers.

Diversity does not construct hierarchies of health modifiers and avoids focusing on groups without further differentiation. Health care programs will not only be challenged by the rising diversity among both patients and staff in the health care sector but also by supporting the integration of more disabled and chronically ill persons into the labor markets of ageing societies which cannot afford leaving groups behind as an unrecognized potential. Antidiscrimination legislation in Europe will possibly drive implementation of diversity policies in health care functions. Last but not least diversity management may become attractive as a strategy for improving the effectiveness of any structured health care program for prevention, rehabilitation and treatment alike through the implementation of a more consistent, multidimensional target group orientation.

Diversity as a conceptual framework applied to the health care field has yet to prove whether it may be a new tool possibly worthwhile to be developed to improve quality of care - but it has the potential to meat the challenges of health equity, defined in terms of resource allocations and access to health care determined by needs of multiple groups of patients.